In Darkest Night
by Ellabee15
Summary: Felicity gets recruited to the Green Lantern corps as very sinister occurrences begin to threaten Lanterns.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This fic starts in the middle of the big fight with the league at the end of season 3 right after Felicity saves Oliver**

* * *

Felicity grabbed Oliver before he could fall to his death off the top of the dam. She was still getting the handle of Ray's suit, but she'd figured out enough to fly it. Carrying him off to the side she grinned as she saw how relieved he was that she'd saved him.

"If I could figure out how to take this suit off, I'd be-"

An explosion sounded next to them, throwing both of them on the ground. Felicity blinked, slightly dazed, Ray's suit, already damaged from their trip to Nanda Parbat, was now so ruined that she could shed it like a shell. She got up, wincing at the ringing in her ears. "Oliver?" she looked around. He was sprawled on the ground next to her. He sat up slowly.

"I'm fine." He said. Blinking, he looked at the explosion site, which looked more like a crater. As if something had impacted with the earth…like a UFO. Felicity walked over to it. It was an impact crater and there was a person in the center, surrounded by a glowing green light

"Felicity get away from there." Oliver said, grabbing Felicity's arm and pulling her back.

"They might be hurt." She said. As the words left her lips The person groaned and turned over. Felicity wrenched her arm out of Oliver's grasp and stumbled down the crater to them. At first she thought it was a trick of the light, but as she approached, she realized the person was blue with darker blue spotting. Her eyes were large, green, and glowing; like a cat's.

"Who are you?" Felicity asked, kneeling next to her. The being was gasping for each breath and Felicity saw that there were gashes and burn marks on her. The green glow around her was fluctuating.

"Felicity….Smoak?" She asked, holding out her hand. "The…ring led me…to you." In the center of her palm sat a strange green glowing ring. "You must….warn….the guard-" She coughed. "…nes…" She was fading. Felicity grabbed her hand.

"Just hold on." She said.

The alien took one last rasping breath. Then the light in her eyes expired. The ring on her hand began glowing and lifted off her finger. It hovered in front of Felicity's face.

"Felicity?" Oliver said.

Felicity was transfixed. Reaching out; she closed her fingers around the ring. There was a flash of green and she was jolted upward. Her fingers were fixed around the ring and she couldn't open them. She looked around, and screamed. She was hurtling through space surrounded by a green light, but somehow, she couldn't feel the speed she at which she was traveling. Planets, stars, suns, and nebulas flew by.

Eventually she noticed that the objects flying by her weren't passing her as fast. She was slowing down. There was a round object directly in front of her. As she got closer, it got larger. It had a green glow similar to the ring. She held up her arms and screamed as she realized it was a planet and that she was going to crash into it. Then she slowed and floated over the surface. Then she tumbled to the ground. Tears were pouring down her face as she looked around her. There was a large structure in front of her that looked like a space version of the Emerald city. All around her were moving green objects. As she squinted at them, she realized they were all flying…beings. She was stuck on a planet full of aliens, probably light years away from home and she was completely alone.

"Found her!" An excited voice said from behind her. She whirled around and saw a short blonde woman with a pixie hair cut, pointed ears, and yellow skin. "Hi, I'm Arisia Rrab. You must be the new Lantern."

Felicity gasped and moved backwards, banging into something large and solid. She turned around and looked up into the face of a large pink rhinoceros. "Another human." It said. Felicity fainted.

* * *

"Nice going Kilowog." Arisia grumbled as she levitated the new lantern with her ring.

"What?" he grumbled, following her as they began walking towards the main complex.

"She's probably never seen a non-human before." Arisia said. "And you don't exactly come off as cute and cuddly."

Kilowog rolled his eyes. "At least she's cuter than Poozer." He muttered.

"What are you two up to?"

Arisia and Kilowog looked ahead to see John Stewart and Hal Jordan looking at them.

"Is that the new recruit?" Hal asked. John stepped forward and looked at the small blonde woman floating in front of Arisia and Kilowog. "Oooo a human."

"She's not very brave." Kilowog grunted. Hal raised an eyebrow.

"She saw him and fainted." Arisia explained. Hal snorted.

"Well, you do tend to have that effect on women." He said. "She is adorable. I say we keep her."

"It's not like we have a choice." John murmured as he looked her over. "Did she say anything about Tiza?"

The guardians had been alerted that Tiza had died and that the ring had been passed on to a new lantern, just not who the new recruit was or where they came from. Until she crashed in front of them.

Arisia shook her head. "She didn't get a chance to say much of anything." She shot Kilowog a glare. He shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat.

"What's her name?" Hal asked.

"What part of Kilowog scared her into unconsciousness didn't you understand?" Arisia said, bumping him with her shoulder. Hal put his arm around her and grinned.

"Can we stop mentioning that?" Kilowog asked.

"Don't worry Kilowog, I'm sure it's temporary." Hal clapped him on the shoulder. "Once she gets to know you…She'll run away screaming." They began making their way back to the facility.

"How about the two of you alert the guardians that she's here?" John suggested. "Hal and I can take her to her quarters. It might be easier to explain things if she's surrounded by humans."

Arisia and Kilowog nodded. John reached out and picked her up, carrying her.

"I know what you're thinking." Hal said, following him.

"I doubt that." John said.

"You think there's someone out there targeting Lanterns." Hal said.

"Can you blame me?" John said. "Three attacks in the last 2 months and now Tiza's dead." He frowned. "I just don't understand why the guardians can't see it." He looked down at the woman he was carrying. "Maybe she has some answers."


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity sat up and looked around, confused. She was lying on unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. "Where am I?" She said.

"Oa." A man said. She turned around and squeaked, falling off the bed. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said. He was tall, with brown hair, large shoulders and was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. "Though my friend John is in the other room and he might bore you to death."

"Were you watching me sleep?" Felicity gasped, scrambling to her feet. "Who are you?"

"My name's Hal." He said, holding up his hand. "My friend Arisia was the one who found you. We figured you might be less scared waking up around humans."

"Well mission accomplished." Felicity hissed. "FYI waking up in a dark creepy room with a man I don't know watching me is definitely not terrifying."

Hal snorted at her sarcasm as the door opened and another man walked in. He was tall as well with a crew cut, dark skin, and a serious demeanor. She recognized the stance from watching Digg; this man was former military. She was probably in trouble.

"Hal, were you scaring her?" He said, frowning at Hal.

"No. I just figured she should see a friendly face before you started on the interrogation." Hal leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Interrogation?" Felicity felt her stomach twisting. "Look I don't know how I got here and I didn't even want this ring I was just saving my Oliver…my friend whose name is Oliver, not my Oliver because that would be weird, I mean I want him to be my boyfriend. Anyways I saved him from certain death and if you want it back." She took it off her finger. "Then you can have it, I just want to go home."

The man covered his face and sighed. "Nice going, Jordan." He muttered. He knelt in front of Felicity and pushed her hand back towards her. "The ring is yours. It chose you to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps."

"The…the what?" Felicity asked.

"Ancient intergalactic police force." Hal chimed in. "We don't just save the world. We save all the worlds."

The man in front of her shook his head. "My name is John. John Stewart." He held out his hand.

"Like the fake news guy?" Felicity asked, taking his hand. Hal snorted. John shot him a look before turning his attention back to Felicity.

"What's your name?"

"Felicity." She said, softly. "Felicity Smoak and there's been some type of terrible mistake."

"Ah." Hal rolled his eyes. "Here comes the humility parade. Please, tell us how about you don't deserve this."

"My friends need me." Felicity said, standing. "I can't just abandon them, the league of assassins is threatening my city, so I'm honored to have been chosen, but I need to go home."

John and Hal shared a look. "We're really sorry, Felicity." John said. "But there's no way for you to go home."

Felicity glared at him. "I can't accept that."

"The ring chose you." John said. "Out of all the planets and species and individuals in this galaxy, it came to you."

Felicity looked at the ring. "Why?" She asked softly, overwhelmed and angered by the object in her hand.

"There's only one way for a ring to pass to a new Lantern." John said.

"Besides removal by the guardians." Hal chimed in. "but you have to do something really bad for them to do that. We're talking planetcide."

"Not helping Jordan." John said.

"The old Lantern has to die, right?" Felicity said, remembering the lights extinguishing in the blue alien's eyes. John nodded. Felicity bit her lip and looked at the ground, ashamed by her anger, but still unwilling to accept the ring.

"Her name was Tiza." John continued. "She wasn't supposed to be in the sector, but she was investigating something for us." He paused and seemed to debate with himself whether he should press, then sighed. "Did she…tell anything?"

"She told me to warn the guardians." Felicity said, trying to recall the former lantern's last words. "Then she said something….nes?" She looked at John. "Is there really no way for me to go home?"

"Not right now." Hal said. "We're about….a ton of light years away from Earth. You're going to need to train and get inducted into the Corps before they let you leave Oa." He stood and walked over to her. "You must be starving. We'll feed you than take you to meet the guardians."

Felicity nodded numbly. John stood and held out his hand, helping her up. "Everyone here knows what it's like to leave their home and family behind, Felicity." He said. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, there's never a shortage of available ears."

She followed them out of the room.

"First thing's first." Hal said. "This is your room; it'll only open with your ring. Just press it into the center of the door and voila; open sesame." He grinned at her, getting only a small grimace in response. He cleared his throat. "Right so…" he looked down the hall. "KILOWOG!" He waved. "Arisia."

The two aliens Felicity had seen before she fainted had just come around the corner. She froze gaping at the appearance of the large pink rhinoceros-like alien.

"Hi." She said nervously. John shook his head.

"Kilowog doesn't bite." He said.

"Speak for yourself, Stewart." Hal muttered. "There was this one training session where-"

"Didn't you knee him in the private parts?" Arisia pointed out.

"That was an accident; how was I supposed to know where he kept them?" Hal retorted. Arisia rolled her eyes and held out her hand.

"Hello again. Arisia Rrab. Hal says this is how you greet someone on your planet?"

Felicity nodded, shaking Arisia's hand. "Felicity Smoak."

"Welcome to Oa." She said. "We thought we'd come see how you were so you could get used to seeing non humans before going into the dining hall. That way you won't faint again."

Felicity bit her lip and looked at the ground. "That's…thanks and I'm really sorry." She directed her apology at Kilowog. "I've just never really seen anything like you before."

"No harm done." Kilowog's mouth opened in what Felicity supposed was a smile. "You should have seen Poozer when he first saw me." He smacked Hal on the shoulder. "He wet himself."

Hal glared at him. "I did not."

"Whatever you say, Poozer." Kilowog said beginning to walk down the hall. John motioned for Felicity to follow. She was grateful for Arisia's warning because nothing in her wildest imagination could have prepared her for the multitude of different species she encountered. Some looked at her with interest, others with boredom. Some introduced themselves, but Felicity could barely remember all of them; the faces and names all blurring in the overwhelming realization that she was really on a different planet and very, very far away from home.

All too soon she found herself sitting in a large dining area with large windows that extended from the floor into the ceiling and looked out. The view was spectacular; the entire plant seemed to be surrounded by a greenish glow and the expanse of space seemed closer here than on earth. She wondered how large the planet's atmosphere was. Then she wondered how it was that all these different creatures could breathe air.

"You've got that look." John said, sliding into the seat across from her.

"What?" Felicity tore her eyes away from the wind. "What look?"

"The "I'm not in Kansas anymore" look". John replied, pushing a plate across the table. "Here. It looks like risotto and almost tastes like it." he said when Felicity looked at the dish in suspicion. "There's no real Earth food, so we make do with what we have."

"You wouldn't happen to have accidentally brought a cheese burger with you?" Hal asked, sitting next to John. Felicity shook her head. "Damn." He sighed.

"The food's quite good once you get used to it." Arisia said, sitting next to Felicity.

"And if you don't want it, then Kilowog will be more than happy to finish it for you." Hal said, pointing to where the other lantern was carrying a plate 3 times the size of theirs.

"His species has a faster metabolism and he burns through energy faster." John explained.

"At least that's what he claims." Hal muttered. Kilowog glared at him. "So." Hal prompted. "Where are you from?"

Felicity picked up her fork and stabbed at the contents of her plate. Though John was right that it looked like risotto, the texture was much harder. She grimaced. "I live in Starling."

Hal frowned. "Home of the Rockets." He said, his tone mocking. "I'm from Coast City so…we're natural enemies."

"I…don't really follow sports." Felicity said, still staring at her plate.

"Did you always live in Starling?" Hal asked.

"No." Felicity replied. "I…" She knew Hal was trying to be nice but she wasn't in the mood to share personal details. And thinking about home made her hurt because she didn't know when she'd see them again. Thankfully Arisia cut in.

"Give her space, Hal. She needs time to adjust." She chided. Felicity shot her a grateful look before taking a bite of her food. She winced as the strange texture and taste hit her tongue. It was something like artificial cheese flavored sandpaper with a slight hint of what could have been described as mushrooms. She looked over at John.

"When was the last time you had risotto?" She asked. John shrugged.

"It has been a while." He admitted, giving her a slight smile.

"Well well well. This must be the fresh meat." A nasal voice said from behind Felicity. She gulped and turned to face an orange alien with a crest on its head, pointed ears and a beak.

"This is Tomar-Re." Hal said.

"Another human?" Tomar-Re said, looking at Hal and John in amusement. "I wonder what that says about your ability to guard your sector."

"You were a lot more fun before you got promoted to honor guard." Hal replied.

"True." John said. "I wonder how that came about. How about you tell our newest member the story?"

Tomar-Re gave him a sour look and clicked his beak in irritation. Then he walked away. Arisia chuckled. "How long are you planning on holding that over his head?" She asked.

"As long as he continues being an ass." Hal said, looking over at John. "Nice one, bro. Daps." He held out his hand for a fist bump.

"Never say that again." John said, shaking his head at Hal's hand.

"Noted." Hal said. He turned to Felicity. "Johnny here is the reason that Tommy-Re got promoted to honor guard. He was leading a mission that went south; exploding star and whatnot. John arrived and brought back-up to help save an entire asteroid worth of people in Tomar-Re's sector. He got injured and by the time he healed Tomar had already taken all the credit and got promoted to Honor Guard."

"What?" Felicity looked over at John. He sighed.

"The guardians had made their decision." He explained. "Tomar is a more senior lantern. There are some who knew the truth, but it was more…politically favorable to promote him than me."

"Guardians don't have a particularly positive view of humans." Hal explained. "Probably has something to do with the last two human lanterns." He smirked. "From all accounts Guy Gardner was a piece of work."

"I heard he was a lot like you." Arisia smirked. Felicity bit her lip.

"And the other one?" She asked.

John raised an eyebrow. "Ever heard of Amelia Earhart?"

Felicity gaped at him. "No way."

"It's why they never found her." Hal said. "Anyway, the guardians think we're reckless, impulsive, hotheaded and stubborn." He shot John a look. "Even Mr. No Fun over here wasn't enough to change their minds."

John raised an eyebrow. "You're making her nervous, Hal." He looked at Felicity. "The guardians aren't that bad."

"She's not nervous." Hal said. "I can already tell she's tough as nails, right Lis?"

Felicity frowned at her plate. "Can everyone just stop trying to tell me how I'm feeling? She said quietly.

Hal opened his mouth and let out a small grunt of pain as Arisia kicked him under the table. He rubbed his leg and pouted at her. Kilowog grinned at Felicity while John fixed her with an intense stare.

"Okay." He said. Felicity looked at her plate.

"This is all…a bit much." She stood. "If you tell me where the guardians are I'll go there by myself." She bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was wander around this planet by herself, but she was also sick of the way the 4 of them were dancing around her emotions. John stood.

"I'll take you." He said. She was about to protest when he held up a hand. "Trust me, you'll never find it."

She nodded, following John out of the dining hall. They walked through a maze of halls and stairs. Felicity was grateful that John didn't try and engage her in conversation. Finally he stopped in front of large double doors that were about 20 feet tall. "This is the main chamber." He said. "Want me come with you?"

Felicity nodded, her heart pounding out of her chest. The doors opened by themselves. She stepped inside with John just behind her and looked up. In the center of the room was a semi circle where the guardians were sitting. She walked forward and burst into nervous laughter.

"They look like Yoda." She said, then clapped a hand over her mouth. One of the guardians let out a long suffering sigh.

"It appears we are to be afflicted with another human lantern." He said.

John frowned up at him. "This is Felicity Smoak. She was chosen by the ring to join the Corp."

"And can this Felicity Smoak speak for herself?" Another one of the Guardians asked in a haughty tone. Felicity glared at him…her…she wasn't sure.

"Yes she can. And she really doesn't appreciate you talking about her as though she wasn't in the room. Considering the fact that she was torn away from her planet right before she got the chance to reunited with the man she loves who she thought had become the head of an assassin organization, but in fact was faking to try and save the city where his family and friends live. Then got thrown across the galaxy to join some kind of fancy green rave style body guard service and, this just in, aliens are real and they make really crappy risotto." She broke off. "I've been through a lot today so don't push me."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the corner of John's mouth tick up slightly. The guardians looked at each other, then back down at her. "Very well, Lantern Smoak." One of the guardians said. "Tomorrow you will begin training and learning what it means to be a part of the Green Lantern Corps."

It was a clear dismissal, but Felicity wasn't having it. "When can I go home?" She asked. The Guardians looked at each other.

"I'm sorry?" One of them said icily.

"I don't want to be a lantern." Felicity said. "So if there's any way to decline or return the ring-"

"Typical." One of the guardians sniffed. "One of the highest honors is bestowed upon a human and they attempt to worm their way out of it."

Felicity glared at him. "Last time I check being abducted against my will wasn't an honor; it was a crime."

"The ring chose you." The guardian in the center of the semi-circle said. "There is no refusing it." He looked past her at John. "Show her to her quarters, Lantern Stewart."

John put his hand on Felicity's arm. "There's no point in arguing with them." He said gently. Felicity glared at him, then spun around and stormed out of the chamber. She walked for about 3 minutes, getting her temper under control. Then she blinked and looked around.

"Where?" she muttered as she realized she had no idea how to get back to her room.

John caught up with her. Motioning for her to follow he began walking in the opposite direction. Felicity followed him back to her room. He paused when they came to her door. "If you need anything, Hal's quarters are on the floor above this one."

"and yours?" Felicity asked. Then her eyes widened. "I swear I wasn't making a pass at you I –" John cracked a small smile.

"They're on the opposite side of the planet." He shrugged. "You don't know how to fly yet so it'll take too long for you to get there if you needed anything."

Felicity nodded. Pressing her ring against the door she pushed it open, looking over her shoulder she gave John a small grimace. "Goodnight, John."

"Goodnight Felicity."

She shut the door and leaned against it. She was shaking slightly, her mind replaying the overwhelming events that had happened the previous day. She pressed her hands to her mouth and thought of her friends back in Starling; of Oliver. What was he doing now? Was he trying to find her? She thought of the look in his eyes before the alien had crashed next to them. It had been her chance…their chance and now… She walked over to the window and looked out at the green glowing planet and the wide star filled sky beyond. Now she didn't even know which way to look for him or how to get home. Tears ran down her cheeks and she turned away from the window and threw herself on the bed; her wracking sobs lulling her into a fitful dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Arisia woke her up early the next morning. At least it felt early. She wasn't sure how to tell night from day. Arisia knocked until Felicity rolled out of bed and opened the door.

"Good morning!" she said giving Felicity a small wave. Felicity squinted at her.

"How are you so perky?" She groaned. "It's not even dawn yet…or is it?" She turned to the windows. "Does this planet have a sun?"

"No." Arisia said. "But don't worry. The kitchen staff manages to supplement any lantern who come from planets with suns with the necessary nutrients." She gave Felicity a bright smile. "We're going to breakfast, then I'm going to show you around Oa and you get to meet your trainers!"

"I…don't have any clothes." Felicity mumbled, "Not besides these anyway."

"Not a problem." Arisia handed her a bag. "We're about the same size and there's a place on our tour where you can have some clothes made!"

"Thanks." Felicity said, taking the bag from the other lantern. "I'll just be a sec-" Her next words were muffled as Arisia grabbed her and pulled her in for a hug.

"Sorry." Arisia said, pulling back. "It's just that I remember my first days here and I would have given anything for anyone to give me one of these. Hal informed me that it was customary for friends on your planet to share them? I hope we can be friends."

Felicity swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you." She said, this time meaning it a bit more than the first time. "I'll just…" she held up the bag.

"Whenever you're ready." Arisia stepped back. Felicity shut the door and went to wash up. 20 minutes later, wearing the clothes that Arisia had provided, she looked at herself in the mirror.

"You can do this." She said, hoping her voice sounded more confident than her reflection looked. Stepping out of her quarters she followed Arisia to the dining hall. Walking in they were met with raised voices.

"That's weird, Poozer, and disgusting."

"You're weird and disgusting."

At a table near the door, Hal and Kilowog were in the middle of a heated discussion. Arisia shot a questioning look at John who was sitting next to them.

"Don't ask me." He said. "I only got here about a minute ago."

"John, you've eaten omelets before, right?" Hal asked. John nodded. "Felicity?" Hal turned and asked her.

"Ye-es?" Felicity said slowly. Kilowog looked at the two of them in horrified surprise.

"Humans eat unborn creatures?" He asked.

"Not exactly." Hal said, sighing.

"Kilowog." Arisia said, sweetly. "Didn't you say that it was a delicacy to eat live insect?"

Kilowog frowned as Hal retched.

"That's different." He insisted.

"Yeah," Hal agreed. "That's disgusting. Next to that eggs seems downright reasonable, right Mau-rit?" He flashed a smile at a hairy slightly feline looking Lantern who was walking by. Mau-rit growled in response before walking away.

"His species reproduces by laying eggs, Jordan." John shook his head, smiling in exasperation.

"Ah" Hal winced. "SORRY." He called across the cafeteria.

John smirked. "I take it this has something to do with the inclusion of Taraxian omelets on the menu this morning." He motioned to his plate. Kilowog nodded, his face turning slightly beige as he looked at the plate with disgust.

"Well, Felicity, do you wish to devour the unborn?" Hal asked, with a wolfish grin.

"It's spicy." John warned.

"Eh." Hal said, picking up a fork and picking up a huge scoop of the omelet in front of him. Putting it in his mouth he gave John a triumphant smile.

John crossed his arms, a knowing look on his face. "Wait for it…" he said to Felicity.

Hal was about to eat a second forkful when his face turned a violent shade of red. He opened his mouth and let out a small gasping noise that sounded like a tea kettle whistle. "Haaaaaa" he grabbed the glass of water in front of him and down it in one gulp then grabbed John's and did the same. He was reaching for Kilowog's glass when the other lantern smacked his hand away. "Whyyyy?" Hal asked.

"Because you need to learn." Kilowog said.

"I think my mouth is bleeding." Hal whimpered.

"I tried to tell you." John shrugged. He looked over at Felicity. "Omelet?" There was a teasing glint in his eye. Felicity shook her head.

"I think I'll pass." She said. She and Arisia went to the buffet style table where all the food was waiting and got plates. Arisia chatted happily, introducing Felicity to some of the other lanterns and making food suggestions to Felicity. They sat back at the table. Hal had his head down and let out a small groan every few seconds. Kilowog was grinning while John pushed another glass of water towards Hal. Arisia sat next to Hal while Felicity took the empty seat next to John.

"So any ideas who my teachers are going to be?" Felicity asked, poking around at the food on her plate.

"Me and Stewart." Kilowog grunted.

Hal raised his head and frowned. "I thought I was going to be one of the trainers."

"It's a miracle you made it through training yourself." Kilowog muttered.

"I must have had a bad teacher." Hal retorted. Kilowog glared and leaned forward, letting out a low growl. "Oooor…" Hal amended. "I had an amazing teacher whose wisdom far exceeded my fragile human capabilities." He gave him a sheepish smile. "Please don't skin me alive."

Felicity looked nervously at Kilowog. "Is skinning something you do frequently?"

He turned to her and his expression softened. "I'm not going to hurt you; but I'm not going to go easy on you. There are real dangers and being nice is making sure you're prepared for them."

"Well I'm taking her to the training grounds after lunch." Arisia said, rubbing Hal's back. He whimpered slightly.

"Anyone got any magical alien cures to help a poor human in pain?"

"You do realize that to us, you're the alien, right?" Kilowog pointed out.

"Logic doesn't work on Jordan, Kilowog." John said, taking another bite of the omelet.

"Shut up, and help me, Spock." Hal said, squinting at him as tears welled up in his eyes. "How are you still eating that?" he whined.

John shrugged. "Try something sugary." He suggested. "Just not-"

Hal reached for a round object on Arisia's plate and put it in his mouth before John could stop him. "That…" John sighed. Felicity looked over at him. "This could last all day." John explained as Hal let out a wail and began fanning his mouth.

"I thought you said we protected the galaxy?" Felicity asked. John smiled.

"Now you see why we need you." He said. "I'm tired of being lumped in with his crazy. Do you have any idea how tiring it gets explaining that "no, not all humans are like him'?"

"Breathe, Poozer." Kilowog said, looking at Hal in concern, pushing his glass of water across to him.

"Poozer?" Felicity asked.

"It doesn't translate well." Kilowog explained.

"Transla… wait, how are you all speaking English?" Felicity asked.

"We aren't." Arisia said.

"The rings act as universal translators." John explained. "We hear what anyone else says in our native language and whatever we say is translated in to the listener's native language.

Sort of like the communicators on Star Trek."

"Nerd." Hal gasped.

John raised an eyebrow, then turned to Felicity. "Actually maybe you can settle an argument for us."

"Oh no." Arisia and Kilowog groaned.

"Star Trek or Star Wars?" Hal said. Felicity shot him a look.

"Aren't you supposed to be dying?" she asked. Kilowog grinned as Hal let out a fake cough.

"But seriously though." Hal continued. "Are you going with the greatest story ever told or the snobby snooze fest that is Star Trek?"

"I think you mean an inspiring and intellectual depiction of exploration." John corrected. Hal stuck out his tongue, which, Felicity noted with a shiver of horror, was red from the spices.

"I'm…actually more of a Doctor Who fan." Felicity said. Hal frowned at John.

"This isn't over." He said.

"Don't we know it." Arisia muttered. "They've been at it ever since this one showed up." She poked Hal in the side, glancing back at Felicity she caught sight of her empty plate. "You ready for the tour?" She asked, grinning.

Felicity gave her a small nod and stood.

"Don't forget, she needs to get her lantern." John said.

"I know, John." Arisia said, shaking her head.

"Lantern?" Felicity asked.

"Think of it as your ring's charging station." John said. "You need to summon one from the main lantern in the power chamber." Felicity's anxiety must have shown on her face because he gave her a reassuring look before saying. "All you have to do is point your ring at the main power core and a lantern will come for you."

Depositing their plates in the receptacle where the kitchen staff would collect and clean them, Felicity and Arisia left the dining hall. "So, what was your job on earth?" She asked.

"I worked as…" Felicity paused, unsure how to explain. "I worked as vice president of a technology company."

Arisia grinned. "Vice president? Were you a ruler?"

"No. I was the second in command." Felicity grinned. "I mostly kept the CEO from wasting away in his lab while running on nothing but coffee and crazy." The memory of Ray's focus on his work giving her a small nostalgic lurch in her stomach. "Um, what planet do you come from?" she asked, trying to turn the conversation away from herself.

"Graxos IV." Arisia said. "I'm the fifth lantern in my family to be chosen for our sector."

"That's…wow." Felicity said.

"It's pretty rare." Arisia continued. "It's also a ton of pressure. I was 13 years old on my planet when the ring chose me." She looked at the ground. "My uncle died, and the ring decided that I was worthy."

"Your uncle was a lantern before you?" Felicity asked.

Arisia nodded. "He got the ring after my father died." She explained.

"I'm sorry." Felicity murmured.

"It's a great honor to be a lantern." Arisia said. "Besides I was very young when it happened. I just hope I can make them proud so when I join the ancestors they'll welcome me."

"I'm sure you will." She said softly. She was beginning to realize how huge a responsibility being a lantern was and the overwhelming self-doubt as to her deserving the ring on her finger. "You said something about clothes?" she asked. Arisia nodded.

"Follow me!"


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity crashed against the ground. Spitting out the dirt, she looked up and glared at Kilowog.

"Really?" She grumbled.

"You should have seen that coming." He said, walking over to her and holding out his hand. Felicity ignored it, closed her eyes and lifted herself up.

"It's day two." She sad, dusting herself off. "I've barely managed to learn how to zap and walk at the same time."

"But we're not zapping, Smoak." Kilowog sighed. "You're supposed to be shielding yourself."

John, who'd been watching from the sidelines, shook his head. "Maybe a break is in order." He suggested.

"Maybe." Felicity growled, going off to the side and grabbing a bottle of water. The training ground was a basic, dirt, open air, arena with small boulders on the side which served as makeshift seats and chairs. Felicity stretched her shoulders, wincing slightly as her muscles cracked.

"You need to concentrate." John said moving to stand next to her.

"I'm trying, but it's kinda difficult to overcome my first instinct of oh god oh god I'm going to die." Felicity muttered.

"Kilowog won't hurt you."

"Tell that to the bruises on top of my bruises." Felicity retorted, before swallowing some water angrily. It went down the wrong pipe and she began coughing. John winced and patted her on the back.

"You know how to materialize the shield." He said, "but that's no good to you if you can't do it under pressure."

Felicity crossed her arms. "So how do you remain calm in the face of certain death? Yoga and happy thoughts?"

John snorted. "Before this I was a marine. It was either stay calm or lose my cool and get me and my fellow soldiers killed."

Felicity looked at her ring. "This was so much easier on the other side of the keyboard." She muttered. "Or as live bait." She winced as memories of the team resurfaced.

"What?" John asked.

"Nothing." She said, a little too quickly. John frowned, but didn't ask, for which Felicity was grateful. She cleared her throat. "So your great advice is to not die?"

"No." John said, slowly. "My advice is to make sure you don't let others get into your head. Focus is key. You said you were a computer technician; next time Kilowog blasts you, try to recall computer programming 101. Keep that in your head so you don't have to lose your concentration."

"What do you think about?" Felicity asked. John's expression hardened slightly before he replied.

"Baseball stats." His voice was gruff and he quickly motioned her back to Kilowog. Felicity didn't press, but she knew he was hiding something. Taking a stand on the opposite side of the training ground from Kilowog, she took a deep breath and began thinking about code. She breathed slowly and watched as he raised his arm. The blast came and she whipped up her hand; casting a small shield. It held up for a few milliseconds before breaking apart and Kilowog's blast threw her to the ground again.

"DAMN IT." she shouted.

"That was better." John said, coming over to offer her his hand.

"I don't want better." Felicity growled, pushing it aside and getting to her feet. "I want to do it correctly so I can go home."

John and Kilowog shared a look. "Maybe that's enough for one day." Kilowog said. "I'll see the two of you at dinner." then he left. John waited until they were alone in the training area before speaking again.

"You aren't the only one who's lost their home." John said, his voice low. "And while I understand that it's upsetting; you can't treat this as though it was an annoying exercise to get out of the way. Many lanterns never see their home planets again." His posture was stiff, formal and pure military, but there was real pain his eyes and anger. Felicity felt a sinking shame in the pit of her stomach. What had John left behind to be here?

"John." She said softly.

"I'll see you at dinner." He said, moving away. He made it to the edge of the training area before pausing. "You did a good job blocking Kilowog. It took Jordan a week to be able to hold a shield against him." Then he walked away. Felicity went to sit on one of the rocks bordering the training area. Looking up at the sky she closed her eyes. John was right; she didn't know what everyone else had sacrificed to be here. She opened her eyes and looked up at the wide expanse of stars and blackness. One of those small dots was Earth. One of those small dots was where Oliver, her mother, Digg, and the others were. She looked down at her hands where the ring sat. If the universe was really so full of people then it meant that there had to be threats which could threaten Earth that no one on the planet would be ready to counteract. They all needed her to be here, to protect them. Even if it meant none of them knew what she was doing or where she was.

* * *

Felicity gripped her plate a little tighter and walked over to the table where Kilowog, Hal, and Arisia were already sitting. "Hey guys." She said. Kilowog motioned to the seat next to him. She sat.

"So, Poozer." Kilowog said. "Felicity here managed to partially block me today."

"Already?" Arisia said her eyes wide and full of excitement. "You must have strong will."

"Pfffff. The only reason I took so long was because I didn't want to hurt Kilowog's feelings." Hal said, before smiling at Felicity. "Nice going Fel." He looked around. "Where's Sir Broods a lot? This seems to be like the ideal moment for one of his sarcastic comments."

"Stewart's taking East watch." Arisia said.

Hal rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"What's East Watch?" Felicity asked.

"It's one of 6 watch towers on the planet." Kilowog explained. "Every Lantern needs to do a minimum of 10 watch hours per year."

"And Stewart's raked up enough reserve hours to hold him over for the next century." Hal said. "Wait, is he missing dinner?" He poked the contents of his plate. "Aw he likes this…purple octopus thingie." He frowned and shook his head. "Though no one knows why."

Felicity looked down at her plate. "How far to the watch tower?" she asked.

"By flying, 2 minutes." Kilowog said.

"By walking?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"20." Arisia said. Felicity nodded.

"Well, he shouldn't have to miss out on dinner." she said, glancing at Hal's plate. "Especially if he likes what I'm assuming is sautéed one eyed one horned flying purple people eater."

Hal laughed. "Oh I am so using that the next time it's on the menu."

Kilowog frowned at them. "Why would anyone want to sautee a tars?"

"Tars?" Hal gaped at him. "You mean there's actually such a thing as a one eyed one horned flying purple people eater?"

"Well it doesn't eat people, only livestock." Kilowog said sagely.

"Details." Hal demanded.

"Why is this so important to you?" Kilowog asked.

Felicity smiled and got to her feet. "Kilowog." She said. "Thanks for…not completely kicking my ass today."

"Don't thank me, Felicity." Kilowog said. "You blocked me all by yourself."

Hal watched the exchange. "I knew it." He said. "I knew he was going easy on her."

Felicity grabbed a second plate and loaded it up with the purple stuff then grabbed what passed as bread before leaving the dining hall. Making her way through the mostly empty halls she finally caught sight of the East Watch. John was almost visible up top, with his back to her. Felicity walked to the tower, then paused, noticing there was no door. She frowned as she went around the entire base. How was anyone supposed to get up there without stairs.

"You need to fly up here." John's voice answered her question. Felicity looked up to see him looking down at her with amusement.

"I brought food." She said, holding up one of her plates.

"Luckily for you that's the password." John pointed his ring at her. "Don't panic." A green bubbled formed around her. Felicity was grateful for the warning, because when it started lifting she almost dropped the plates. Closing her eyes she looked upwards at John instead, concentrating on his face and not the sheer drop underneath. John had really nice eyes. She noticed. In fact, and she wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed this before, he was extremely attractive.

"Afraid of heights?" he asked as he brought the bubble into the tower.

"Yeah." Felicity said watching the green around her disappear. "Which I guess is going to be a problem. John shrugged.

"You get used to it." He said, nonchalantly, taking the plate and nodding his thanks before turning to face outside the tower.

"I wanted to apologize." Felicity said. "I guess I was being-"

"Don't." John said. "There's no need to apologize, I just…today is a difficult day for me." He seemed to hesitate before pulling out a picture from his pocket. It was a baby girl wearing a purple onesie who was looking directly at the camera with a wide eyed expression. Felicity recognized the serious expression.

"Is she?" She said, looking into John's eyes that were almost identical to the baby's.

"Her name is Aisha and it's her birthday." John said. "She's 9." He hung his head. "Her mother died soon after she was born. I was on a tour in Iraq and they wouldn't let me come home. My mom is raising her…or at least last I heard she was." He closed his eyes. "I got chosen not long after she was born. I've never even gotten the chance to meet her." He looked at Felicity. "I'm not telling you this because I want to belittle what you're going through. I just wanted to explain why I was….angry today."

"I get it." Felicity said. "I mean, I don't get it, but it's understandable why you were upset and that I don't blame you." She looked down at the picture. "Why haven't you gone back?"

"Because the guardians haven't allowed it." John said.

"And why do you listen?" Felicity said.

"It's not that simple." John sighed. "Green Lanterns represent order in the chaos. How would it look if we started breaking rules?"

"You said that Tiza wasn't supposed to be in our sector. Doesn't that count as not following the rules?" Felicity retorted.

"She was following a lead and it led her to the sector. That's different." John shook his head. "It's also dangerous. Green Lanterns have a lot of enemies. It's better for her if I stay away rather than risk her being put in danger." He looked down at the picture before putting it away.

"Hey, maybe now that there are three human lanterns they can send you back." Felicity suggested. John looked out again.

"Maybe." He said, though his tone betrayed his doubt. He pointed out at the sky. "Earth's that way, by the way. This is the only tower where you can see it."

Felicity looked in the direction he was pointed. "Thank you." She said softly.

"We've got it a lot easier than most of the lanterns here." John said. "At least there are other humans."

Felicity nodded.

Glancing down at his plate, John grinned. "I love this stuff."

"Hal mentioned it was your favorite." Felicity said giving the purple substance a suspicious look.

"Don't judge." John said. "You need to try it before you say it's gross." He took a fork, speared some of it and held it out to her.

"It's wiggling." She said, moving back.

"Scared?" John challenged.

"If it stops me from getting food poisoning then yes; I am terrified." Felicity muttered. "Okay, just shove it in and get it over with." She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

"What the HELL?"

She and John turned around to see Hal standing on the other side of the tower.

" "When did you get here?" John asked.

"Apparently just in time to see you get propositioned." Hal said.

"It's not…" Felicity covered her face. "That is not what's happening." She stepped away from John.

"What's up, Hal?" John asked.

"Something Mr. Dishonor guard said at dinner." Hal said. "I heard Tomar mention that there was a strange phenomena in a part of one of the sectors. Someone reported yellow lights that looked like lantern energy."

"Yellow?" John frowned. "This keeps getting stranger." He muttered.

"Or it's one of the vast mysteries of space and you're being paranoid." Hal said hopefully. John shot him a look.

"Tiza didn't just spontaneously die on us." He growled. "And those attacks on that medicine convoy-"

"You don't have to convince me, Johnny." Hal sighed. "I'm on your side." He looked at Felicity. "I'll just leave the two of you to your…" He grimaced. "Whatever that was." He took off, flying across the sky.

Felicity put her hand on her hips. "You want to tell me what's got you and Hal so worried?"

"Not yet." John said. Felicity frowned. "It's not a question of me thinking that you can't handle it." he explained. "It probably hasn't escaped your notice that many lanterns aren't very happy with humans. I don't want you being brought down with me if it turns out I am being paranoid." He shook his head. "It could ruin your career." He winced. "I've got 3 more hours of watch time so if you want me to bring you down?" He held up his ring.

Felicity nodded. "See you at training tomorrow." She said.

"Bright and early trainee Smoak." John said in a deep military tone. Then his expression softened. "Thank you for listening."

Felicity nodded, giving him a small wave before he created another bubble around her and lowered her out of the tower.


	5. Chapter 5

"Block, block, dodge." John instructed.

Felicity threw herself out of the path of one of Kilowog's blasts. Ducking behind a rock, she concentrated on one of the stones in front of her and, using the ring, picked it up and threw it at Kilowog who blocked it effortlessly.

"Good job." John praised. "I think that's enough for today."

"Right you are, Johnny boy." Hal said, coming onto the training ground with Arisia behind him. "We've got news."

John offered Felicity his hand. She took it and got to her feet.

"Out with it, Jordan." Kilowog grunted. "Some of us want to hit the showers."

Hal bit back a sarcastic comment before turning to Felicity. "How would you feel about some off world training?"

Felicity's eyes widened as she looked between Arisia and Hal. Arisia grinned. "We cleared it with the guardians. You're going to have your first survival training exercise and Hal and I are going to supervise."

John frowned. "You trying to steal our trainee, Lantern Rrab?"

"Yes." Hal said. "You've been hogging her and it's not fair." He grinned. "What do you say, Fel? Ready for a field trip?"

His enthusiasm was infectious. Felicity grinned as she asked, "where are we going?"

"Tarisius 4" Hal said. Kilowog coughed in disbelief.

"Tarisius 4?" He asked. "For survival training? What's she going to learn there?"

"Hey!" Hal shot back "I happened to have had a terrible mentor who stranded me alone on Tarisius 3 for two days and left me there." He glanced back at Felicity "Always go to Tarisius 4, never go to Tarisius 3."

"I didn't see you complaining about my training methods when you got stranded in that nebula without a charge in your ring or your lantern." Kilowog muttered.

"Because I am a kind and just mentor." Hal continued, ignoring Kilowog. "I have chosen to make you build up to Lord of the Flies style training."

"Poozer that is complete and utter –" Kilowog's next words weren't translated by the ring. Felicity shot John a look as he covered his face.

"You don't want to know." He muttered.

"There are ladies present." Hal fake gasped.

"I think we should supervise." John said. "The training, I mean. Just in case you're using this as an excuse to take a vacation. She's still our trainee."

Kilowog nodded his agreement.

"That is," John said, "if Felicity is okay with us tagging along."

Felicity pretended to consider it. "As long as Kilowog doesn't trap me in a cave –"

Kilowog glared at Hal. "I'm guessing you left out the part where I was with you the entire time?"

Hal shrugged. "It didn't fit into my dashing tale of heroism."

"We should leave them to it." John rolled his eyes as Kilowog growled at Hal. Arisia winced.

"I'll stay." She sighed. "If only to make sure this doesn't cut into Hal and my dinner plans."

"Good luck." Felicity left the training ground with John behind. "So…" she said once they'd moved far enough away from the others. "Arisia and Hal."

"Yeah." John said. "It's been going on for a while, but they don't like to advertize."

"Because the guardians wouldn't approve?" Felicity asked.

John shook his head, "there's no official rule about inter-Corp relationships, but it doesn't mean they encourage it."

Felicity sighed. "So, we can't go home and we're not encouraged to date." She grumbled. "Being a Lantern is great. I can really see why they don't have a voluntary recruitment process."

John laughed. "Why, is there someone in the Corp you want to date?" He teased. Felicity looked back at him. Over the last 3 months she'd learned that, while John was serious when he had to be, he had a dry humor that came out during down time. He was baiting her.

"Well," She said, tilting her head. "Kilowog has such a way with training." She sighed, dramatically. John grinned, shaking his head.

"So that's what a guy has to do to get to your heart; throw a couple punches your way?"

"Don't forget about those energy blasts." Felicity giggled. "I was lost." She fake swooned, making John catch her. His shoulders shaking with laughter. Tomar-Re, who was passing, clucked irritated at them. Felicity waved as Jon pulled her back up.

"So…what should I expect on Tarisius 4?"

John shook his head. "Hal picked a planet with more beaches than threats. There's mostly docile animals…except for the ROUS."

"The…" Felicity looked at him, waiting for the punchline, but he had his serious face on. "ROUS….Rodents of Unusual Size?"

"Yeah." John rolled his eyes. "There are a few on one of the islands, but as long as you don't go near them, they won't hurt you." He shot Felicity a side glance. "The planet's about the size of mercury with 2 land masses. One with beaches and sunshine, the other with giant rats. I'm betting Hal will keep you on the beach side for the most part before going over to the other side to blast one rat."

"Unless my evil mentors decide otherwise." Felicity muttered. John scoffed.

"Evil?" he asked.

"You heard me." Felicity grinned.

"Well, I was planning on letting you have this vacation," John said. "But now…"

"Ha." Felicity smirked. "You won't let anything bad happen to me."

"Oh really?" John asked. "And why's that?"

"Because if I die a horrible death by rat, it'll reflect poorly on your training abilities." Felicity replied. "Not that I'll need you to save me; I'm kind of a badass."

John nodded. "See you tomorrow, Smoak."

* * *

The next morning they all gathered in front of the dining hall. Felicity had a bag with a sleeping bag, snacks she'd taken from breakfast. She was wearing a sweater, hiking boots and long pants. She'd come early to try and quell her nervousness. Arisia was second carrying 2 mugs of imitation coffee and smiling…as she usually was.

"You ready?" She asked, handing Felicity a mug.

"Does it matter?" Felicity accepted the cup and glanced at her ring. It displayed the time; 5 minutes to 6. Oa had 27 hours a day with 65 minutes per hour; which meant the others would have no excuse for being late.

In true military fashion, John arrived right on time. Kilowog followed about a minute later.

"Jordan's not here?" Kilowog asked, looking around. "Surprise, surprise."

"You didn't wear him out, did you?" Felicity whispered to Arisia. She snorted.

"He wishes."

Just then Hal arrived, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "Alright, lantern Smoak." He said. "I"ll ignore that you were late if you ignore that I was later."

"She was early." John muttered.

"Everyone have their ring charged?" Hal asked, ignoring John.

"Do you?" Kilowog asked as the others nodded.

"Then let's go." He took off. Felicity gulped.

"We're flying there?" She asked. Though she'd gotten a couple of lessons flying around the training pitch with John, she'd never left the atmosphere before. And she had trouble taking off on command.

"Go on ahead." John instructed the others. "We'll be right behind you."

They took off and waited a distance above them. Flying seemed like second nature to them; Felicity was jealous. She still had trouble getting over her initial stab of terror everytime she looked down.

"All of us have years of practice." John said. He was watching her looking at the others and had correctly read her expression. "Soon you'll be flying circles around us. You're small, so it'll be easier for you to maneuver the turns. It took Kilowog forever; he kept crashing into things." He held out his hands. "You ready?"

Felicity nodded stiffly and slid her hands in his.

"You practiced those breathing exercises, right?"

"Yes." She murmured.

John nodded. "Listen to my voice, concentrate on it." Felicity did as he instructed. You've done this before she told herself. Granted, it had only been laps around the training area and not nearly as long as going to another planet and how fast would she have to be traveling to break out of Oa's atmosphere?

"I know you're panicking right now." John's voice broke through her thoughts. "But this is going to be just as easy as training. The zero gravity will do most of the work for you once you leave the atmosphere."

"Except give me oxygen." Felicity muttered.

"That's what you have the ring for." Joh replied. "Now, breathe in….hold…2…3…out."

She shook her head, but did as he asked.

"Breathe in…hold…2…3…out." She exhaled and noted with amusement that John was using, what she called his "calming tone." It was the voice he pulled on Hal and Kilowog when their bickering got too intense. She wasn't sure whether or not she should be insulted.

"Focus on the idea of weightlessness." John continued.

"Ever thought of being a yoga instructor?" Felicity asked. "I mean you've got the whole zen thing working for you, it's just matter of flexibility…unless you already are." She opened her eyes to see John giving her a smile. "Right, I'm supposed to be breathing." She muttered.

"Look down." John said.

They were already 3 feet in the air.

"You-"

"No." John said. "You. I just followed once you started going up."

Felicity bit her lip. "I-"

"Just focus on going higher." John said. "Like a ballon."

"Those have a bad habit of popping." Felicity muttered as she let go of his hands. She felt wobbly, unstable.

"Ready?" Hal said, flying next to her. "Just think happy thoughts and we'll be there before you know it." He took off, streaking past the others.

"Slow down." Arisia shouted after him, flying after him. Kilowog followed.

"No it's fine." Felicity said. "I'll just be here. Slow and steady, wins the race." She slowly began moving forward, with John next to her. He looked thoughtfully towards where Hal was disappearing from view before turning to Felicity. "Trust me?"

She nodded.

"Good."

He held out his hand and pointed his ring at her. Creating a bubble around her, he grasped the end of the beam of green light before tugging it over his head. Swinging it forward, he tossed the bubble holding Felicity past Kilowog, Arisia and eventually Hal. She waved at Hal's dumbfound expression.

"That's cheating, Stewart." Hal shouted. "You're using your arms for evil."

"John." Felicity called out. "How do you stop this thing?"

"Concentrate." John said. "You can form brakes with your mind."

Felicity closed her eyes. "Don't panic." She muttered and pretended to slam on the brakes of a car. The bubble stopped abruptly and popped, leaving her floating on her back. "I'm seeing stars." She said as she looked up.

"You're in space." John said, coming up next to her.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." She shot back.

"Lieutenant, actually." John replied. "I never made captain."

Felicity glanced over his shoulder. Disappearing in the distance was Oa; ringed with a green glow and slipping into oblivion.

"It's beautiful." She breathed.

"Space is a pretty amazing place." John agreed. "As a lantern you'll be able to see things that most people can only glimpse through a telescope or satellite images."

He motioned around them, Felicity turned and looked out. The vast black expanse overwhelming her. There was no end, no cut off point. She felt so incredibly small. She glanced down and saw the same dizzying blackness beneath her.

"Over there." John said, pointing. She turned, to see a comet passing about a hundred feet from them. She could almost feel it as it moved. She held out her hand.

"That's amazing."

"That…" John said. "was Haley's Comet. It's true." He added as Felicity looked up at him in shock. She watched as it flew away.

"I feel so insignificant." She murmured.

John shook his head. "Or you're fortunate. Think of all the people who've been staring up at the sky for thousands of years, trying to discover what's out there. And here you are."

Felicity blushed. John cleared his throat.

"You're doing great, we'll have to add regular space flights to your training." He said, suddenly all business. "That way this will get easier."

"You're saying I'll used to this?" Felicity did a somersault in midair. John smiled at her enthusiasm.

"No one gets used to this." He said softly.


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright." Hal clapped his hands together. "We'll need tents and a fire." He grinned over at Felicity. "Trainee Smoak, get cracking."

"Wait….you want me to set up everything?" Felicity looked at the pile of equipment Hal had in front of him.

"That seems a bit excessive, Hal." John agreed.

"No offense, Felicity." Kilowog grabbed the largest bag and walked over to the shadiest side of the clearing they were standing in. "But I pitch my own tent."

"That explains why you're still single." Hal muttered. Arisia rolled her eyes.

Arisia began shifting through the bags. "There's only 2 other tents." She said.

"It looks like we're going to have to share." Hal sighed dramatically. Felicity focused on the bags in front of her, not looking at John. She heard him shift behind her and clear his throat.

"If you two are sharing I'm finding another clearing." John muttered, frowning at Hal.

"Me too." Kilowog agreed.

"Or you could just out beneath the stars." Arisia told Hal, causing him to pout. "The view of the sky from this planet is stunning." She tossed Felicity a bag and pointed towards a spot about 3 feet from the treeline about 5 feet from Kilowog's tent. "We're putting ours there."

"I would have probably liked camping more on Earth if I had one of these rings." Felicity remarked as they put up their tent. It took them about 2 minutes. Standing back and admiring their work they gave each other a high five.

"You don't say." Arisia glanced over her shoulder at where John and Hal were still putting up theirs. Hal had insisted that they do it the old fashioned way. He was currently spreading it flat on the ground, but got his foot tangled in one of the ropes. He lost his balance and fell. Felicity and Arisia winced in sympathy as John facepalmed.

"Can't we just…" He began.

"NO." Hal said, fighting against the fabric of the tent as he tried to stand. "We…are….doing…this…the old fashion….way."

John shook his head and glanced over at Kilowog who'd finished his tent and had pulled a rock in front of it so he'd have a seat to enjoy Hal's antics.

"Hal." He tried again.

"No." Hal glared at the tent poles. "Now….where do I stick these?"

"Oh lord." John sighed.

"Need help getting it up?" Felicity asked, then clapped her hands over her mouth. John raised an amused eyebrow and Hal paused his fight with the tent to smirk.

"We'll save that offer for later." Hal said. "The way Johnny's wound up, he'll need to unwind."

Felicity became very interested in the surrounding greenery while John shot Hal a look.

"This could take a while." John muttered. He looked over at Felicity and Arisia. "Do you guys want to go scouting for food?"

"I'll supervise here." Kilowog said. "Just to make sure that there's still a campsite to come back to." He grinned at Hal, who was trapped underneath the tent fabric.

"OW." He shouted. "Stupid. Poles. Grrrr."

"I'll stay too." Arisia sighed.

"Felicity?" John asked. She nodded, following him away from the clearing, ducking into the trees. They walked for a while in silence.

"What are we looking for?" She asked, ducking under a branch and dodging a tree branch.

"I'm making sure this trip isn't a complete waste of valuable training time." John said. Felicity groaned.

"You can't unwind for a second can you?" She sighed.

"I'm just checking to see I you can identify edible food on an unfamiliar planet." He said. "Just looking out for you."

"What do you do for fun?" Felicity asked. "Better question, what do Lanterns do for fun?"

"When we get back to Oa, I'll show you." John said. "And just because Hal's given up pretending that this isn't a vacation, I figure I should just throw in one lesson before the beach bumming and camping begins." He turned back and grinned at her. "If you pass I'll take you swimming."

"Swimming….yay!" Felicity said with sarcastic enthusiasm.

"You say that now, but you haven't seen the beach." John said, pushing aside a large leaf and holding it back so Felicity could pass through.

"I didn't even bring a bathing suit." Felicity mumbled as she passed.

"You don't need one." John said. Felicity tripped over a root. He reached out and grabbed hold of her, keeping her from falling. Pulling her upright, he looked down at her and explained. "You can create one with your ring."

"Oh…yeah, um." She cleared her throat. "That makes sense."

John looked at her with concern and pressed a hand to her cheek. "You okay, your face is really red."

"I'm…fine. I'm great." Felicity pulled away and kept walking. "Just not used to hiking through an alien jungle." She focused on the terrain in front of her and tried to ignore the tingling feeling left by John's fingers. Don't tip him off, she admonished. He has no idea what he's doing to you.

"Your control would have to be very good." John continued. Felicity looked blankly at him. "To maintain the bathing suit." He explained, smirking…oh he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Or I could just forget about it entirely." She said. "It saves energy." She shrugged. In the back of her mind she heard a voice (her conscience?) telling her to back away now. John was her trainer and he was too serious and honorable to ever think of her in any other way. Then she saw the playful glint in John's eyes and the way he moved slightly closer to her and she told that voice to shut up. He was looking at her intently. She exhaled slowly, her heart racing. It had turned into a stare off, neither of them looking away. John was kind and she definitely had done worse. Would it be so bad? To try something with John?

She was about to say something. Which is when her treacherous brain did the thing that guaranteed she'd be the one to blink first; it reminded her of Oliver. Guilt and sadness rushed through her as she ducked her head, but she wasn't fast enough to miss the slight look of disappointment on John's face.

"So...food. Where can we find it?" She said, beginning to walk.

"Right in front of you." John said, his voice serious, and detached. Felicity closed her eyes. She hadn't meant to hurt him. She just…hadn't told him about Oliver…she hadn't told anyone much about her life back on Earth. In front of her were two trees, both carrying fruit.

"Let me guess…" Felicity said, crossing her arms and frowned at the two trees. "One of them is safe to eat and the other s deadly poison?"

"You're one hundred percent correct." John said.

Felicity sighed and looked at the trees. "great." She moved forward, then paused. "Wait," she said, throwing a glance over her shoulder at John. "You'll tell me if I'm right before I eat it, right?"

John looked appalled. "Of course."

Felicity nodded and turned back to the trees. The one on her left had blue leaves with large purple fruits that looked like oval shaped apples. The one on the right was around 11 feet tall with shiny brown leaves and similarly colored fruit that looked like bronze cherries. The trunks of both tress were green, tall, and thin. The leaves of each tree began about 7 feet in the air. Felicity tilted her head and put her hand to her chin.

"On Earth, bright colors usually mean poison." She said, slowly. "But we're not on Earth." She frowned. "There are birds in both trees."

"What does that tell you?" John asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Felicity sighed. "Birds on Earth can digest berries that make humans really sick."

"Good reasoning." John said. "Look closer."

"Kinda hard to do that since I'm waaaaay down here." Felicity reached her hand up, her fingers not coming close to touching the leaves. John cleared his throat and looked pointedly at her ring. "Right." She said. "I can fly. I forgot." Concentrating, she lifted herself up. Going first to the blue tree, she examined the fruit. Touching one close to her, she pulled her hand away when a worm came out of the fruit. Moving over to the brown tree, she looked at its fruit, then smiled. Going down she pointed triumphantly at the blue tree.

"That one."

John's face was unreadable. "Why?"

"Because of the worms." Felicity said. "They're eating the blue tree's fruit, but in the brown tree, they're dead."

John nodded. "Good job." He send a beam of light to pick some of the purple fruit.

"Please tell me they taste good." Felicity said, looking at the fruit.

John created a glowing green basket and turned to go back to their campsite. "They're aiight." He said, flippantly. "They're actually really good." He added. "We'll probably have to fight the others to get some."

"Or…" Felicity put a hand on his arm. "We don't have to go back immediately we could stay here a bit and eat a few before we have to share."

John nodded and motioned to two rocks near the trees. They sat down, she grabbed one of the fruits. It was awkward, silent. Felicity rolled the fruit between her hand. "so…this is definitely not poison."

"No it's definitely not poison." John laughed. "You ever been camping before?" Small talk, great.

Felicity snorted. "My mom isn't really the outdoorsy type ." She said. "Growing up, the closest I ever got to camping was that time in middle school when I watched the Blair Witch Project at a friend's sleep over…and that cured me of any regrets I had about not camping."

John laughed.

"What about you?"

"Not until I joined the military." He replied. "Though it wasn't nearly as fun as watching Hal getting his ass beat by a tent."

Felicity chuckled and took a bite of the fruit. "Oh my god." She moaned. John arched an eyebrow.

"You need a moment." He asked. Felicity ignored him.

"This…this tastes like chocolate." She grinned. "Or at least the closest thing I'm going to have in a while." As she said the words, she braced herself for the assault of sadness that usually came when she referenced her home, but it never came. John reached down to the basket and the fruits. Felicity slapped his hand away. "Mine." She said.

"Oh really?" He pulled away and shook his head. "and how do you figure?"

"I faced poison to get these." Felicity explained. "I looked my own mortality in the face; I deserve the basket of chocolate apples. Hell I deserve the whole damn tree."

John sighed. "Well I'm done for. There's absolutely no way I could ever get these away from you."

"Oh." Felicity put a hand to her chest. "I guess I can be merciful."

"Thanks." John said dryly, grabbing one and taking a bite.

"Oliver." Felicity said. "His name is Oliver." John raised an eyebrow. "He and I….it was beyond complicated and well, even more complicated now because I'm thousands of miles away and-" She paused. "I just…I was this close to being able to start something with him before," she held up the ring, "this came into my life. She hung her head. "I guess we were doomed, but the feelings didn't disappear." She bit her lip, looking down at the ground. John's hand came on top of hers.

"It's okay." He said. "I get it."

Felicity blushed. "Thanks." She mumbled. John looked like he was about to say more, when Hal crashed through the trees. He looked between them and grinned.

"BUSTED." He said, delightedly. "I see what's going on here."

"You…do?" Felicity pulled her hand out of John's, trying not to panic. John drew his hands back.

"The two of you thought you were being slick, but the jig is up." Hal continued.

"Don't say that." John and Felicity said simultaneously. Then looked down nervously. Way to not be obvious.

"You thought," Hall leaned forward, "that you could hide and keep these." He pulled one of the fruits from the basket. "All to yourselves." He took a bite, grinning. "Sneaky sneaky."

Felicity felt a sigh of relief. "You caught us." She said quickly.

"You're so smart, Hal." John added.

"Damn right." Hal said, his mouth full. "Because you both need to know that you can't keep anything from me."

"Of course, Hal." John stood and clapped him on the back.

Hal frowned. "Was that sarcasm?" he followed him. "Dude."

Felicity laughed. John glanced over and held out his hand. She accepted it, smiling and let him pull her up. As she, Hal and John walked back to the campsite, she felt a slight twinge of disappointment, that John hadn't been able to carry out his offer to take her swimming.


	7. Chapter 7

"Get up Trainee Smoak."

The banging on the door, made Felicity jump out of bed and clumsily fall to the ground. "Who is it?" She groaned, rubbing her head. She'd only just gotten back from the survival training a few hours ago and had hoped to get a bit of sleep before breakfast.

"Tomar Re."

She groaned and got to her feet. Walking to the other side of the room, she wrenched open the door. "What is it?" She asked, blinking sleepily at the other lantern. Tomar Re clicked his beck in irritation before answering.

"I have a mission and I thought it might be beneficial for you to get some extra training in." His eyes narrowed and he smirked as Felicity took a nervous step back. "It's a simple evacuation; should be difficult for even a newbie like you to mess up. Unless," He gave her a mocking smirk. "You're not capable of doing anything without Stewart there to hold your hand."

She glared at him. "I'll be ready in 5."

"Better make it 2." Tomar retorted just Felicity slammed the door in his face. She took a deep breath and tried to shake herself awake. She needed to prove him wrong, if only to wipe that stupid smirk off.

* * *

"I'm assuming you can fly?" Tomar said when shecame to meet him in front of the dining hall. She nodded; the trip had given her a chance to practice and while she wasn't as good as Arisia or Hal, she was definitely improving. "Good. Try to keep up." He took off. She jumped and took off after him.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"A small planet about 2 lightyears from here." Tomar replied. "Its moon moved closer to the planet's surface, causing the tides to change. You'll be in charge of overseeing the coastal evacuation while I move the moon back in place." Felicity nodded.

They flew on in silence. Tomar kept shooting her dismissive looks, every one making her more and more irritated. Finally she was sick of it. "What's your problem with me?" She asked.

"Focus on the mission." Tomar replied.

"I'm multitasking. And since you seem to be capable of focusing on the mission and throwing me the stink eye, I think you can handle answering this question." She growled.

Tomar ignored her, speeding up and flying ahead.

"Asshole." Felicity muttered.

* * *

The evacuation was going smoothly. Felicity's job consisted of making sure the lifeboats made it into the outer atmosphere without incident and stayed there. She was floored by how advanced many of the alien civilizations were. She almost wished so could go back to earth to give them some of the space technology, but she knew that humans weren't ready to go out into deep space. They couldn't even handle living among themselves, how would they handle living with other humanoids. Tomar was still moving the moon. It was arduous work and Felicity suspected it would go a lot faster if the other lantern swallowed his pride and asked for her help, but that wasn't likely to happen.

Something past the moon caught her attention; a flickering yellow light. Felicity frowned; it seemed to be getting closer.

"Tomar." She called out, trying to get the other lantern's attention.

"Don't distract me." He barked over his shoulder.

The yellow light was getting stronger, closer. Felicity squinted at it. Strangely it reminded her of the light their lantern rings created, just the wrong color. She had a gut feeling; this was dangerous.

"Tomar." She repeated.

"Lantern Smoak." Tomar said, turning around and glaring at her. "If you are incapable of controlling your emotions, I-"

Felicity ignored him and blasted him out of the way of the oncoming beam of yellow light. As it streaked by her she saw a being inside. Just like a lantern. The ball turned around and flew straight at her. She put up a shield, but it shattered on impact; breaking it to pieces, she dodged, barely getting out of the way in time. Tomar Re regained his senses and sent a beam of green light at the ball, but it didn't put a dent in it.

"What is that?" He asked, flying next to her.

"I thought you knew; being the senior lantern and unemotionally burdened non human." Felicity shot back. Tomar raised his eyes upward and clicked his beck.

The yellow being charged them again, Concentrating their beams together, it managed to hold the it back...barely. It paused, then turned around, leaving Felicity and Tomar staring at it's disappearing glow.

* * *

"What was that?" Felicity asked for what must have been the third time since they'd replaced the moon and begun their flight back to Oa.

Tomar shook his head. "I don't know, but we need to alert the guardians. It attacked us."

"Did it?" Felicity stopped. Tomar flew about 10 feet in front of her, then stopped, turning back. "I mean, yes it did." She continued, lost in her train of thought. "But think about it. It could have ended us at anytime; you saw our rings were basically useless against it, and yet it didn't end us." She paused. "It was testing us...and warning us. It wanted us to tell the others."

"So you think we shouldn't tell the Guardians?" Tomar looked at Felicity as though she'd lost her mind. Felicity glared at him.

"Of course we should." She snapped. "I just think that this...person is clearly ahead of us..." She looked out at the vast empty blackness. "We're playing its game and it has us exactly where it wants us."

* * *

John was pacing back and forth in one of the watch towers. Felicity and Tomar-Re should have been back by now; he would have seen them. He was worried and couldn't shake the feeling of dread forming in his stomach. His time in the military had taught him to focus on his gut instincts and use them to stay sharp. Every piece of him told him danger was out there. Suddenly two green lights appeared in the sky, approaching fast. John straightened up, watching their descent. He relaxed a little as they got closer. Felicity and Tomar Re, both back and in one piece. Felicity glanced up at the tower. There was distress and nervousness in her eyes, along with determination. She and Tomar turned and walked into the main hall where the Guardian's chambers were. John would have to wait until his shift at the watch tower ended to know what had happened.

* * *

"How the FUCK can they be so calm about this?" Felicity growled as they walked out of the guardian chamber. Tomar followed, seemingly ruffled.

"That word didn't translate, but I suppose it was appropriate to the situation." He said, glancing ahead of them, he said. "I see your shadow is coming."

John was landing in front of them. "What happened?" He asked.

Felicity was about to respond when Tomar shook his head. "Not here."

"Why? Worried of causing a panic?" She spat, repeating the guardians' words. Tomar flinched.

"They're right that we don't want people to be afraid." He said, leading them to a side chamber that looked like an auditorium. Shutting the door, he took a deep breath. "Stewart, I owe you an apology; someone is threatening Lanterns."

John crossed his arms.

"We were attacked." Felicity explained. "I'm fine," she added John she saw give her a once over to assess for injury. "Just...a bit shaken."

"There's something else I didn't tell the guardians." Tomar murmured. John and Felicity looked at him. "I can't be sure...but I think I caught a glimpse of the person who attacked us..." He looked John directly in the eyes before saying. "I think it was Sinestro."


	8. Chapter 8

"Who's Sinestro?" Felicity asked as Tomar Re closed the door. John looked...on edge. Not exactly fearful, but definitely concerned. "John?"

"He's a traitor." Tomar growled. John held up a hand, stopping his tirade.

"She needs all the facts." He said. Taking a shuddering breath, he ran his hand over the back of his head. "Sinestro was one of the senior lanterns of the corp when I arrived." He began. "He trained me..." he let out a humorless chuckle. "He trained Hal...and many other lanterns that make up the corp." John walked over to the windows. "I don't know...when he began to change...or if he even changed." He sighed. "He...started to say things...things that made sense to many of the other lanterns. He challenged the authority of the guardians, he tried to make the corps a little more...receptive to outside influences..." John paused. "I even agreed with some of his ideas, but... he took it too far. He began suggesting that because we have so much authority and power that we should use it to do ...more."

He was ashamed, Felicity realized. Whatever Sinestro had become, he blamed himself for not being able to read the signs sooner.

"He began using his ring to...try to assert his authority over others. His idea was that a lantern's job would be easier if the people were already under our...our rule."

"He and his followers tried to take over a small planet in his sector." Tomar explained. "When that failed and they were captured and brought to stand trial, they attacked Oa. Most of the lanterns that supported him were stripped of their power and imprisoned, but..."

"Sinestro got away." John finished. "Sinestro escaped, leaving them out to dry to save himself."

"But he died." Tomar said. "His ring chose another lantern."

John shook his head. "I always thought it was too easy." He muttered.

"We know, you've been seeing him everywhere." Tomar snapped.

"Well I wasn't the one who saw him today." John retorted.

"Boys." Felicity said, stopping Tomar's retort.

"If Sinestro's back it means trouble for you." Tomar said to John. "If he's going to be mad at anyone it'll be you and Jordan."

"I'm aware of that." John growled. "What happened?"

"He's...some kind of..." Felicity struggled to find the best way to describe what she'd seen. "Yellow lantern. Our rings were powerless against him." She looked at her hands, fiddling with the glowing green circle on her finger. "Even together we barely managed to slow him for a second."

John sighed.

"So what do we do?" Tomar asked.

"Aren't you honor guard?" John commented lightly. Felicity let out a cough that barely disguised a laugh. Tomar glared at him.

"I didn't ask for that promotion."

"True, but that hasn't stopped you from continuously holding it over everyone's head." John retorted.

"Boys." Felicity said. "Who else can we trust?" John shot Tomar another glare before responding.

"Kilowog, Hal, and Arisia."

She nodded. "Then we need to tell them...and try to find a way to fight their rings." She turned and walked out of the room. John and Tomar watched her go.

* * *

"For a human," Tomar said. "She's not that horrible. She showed levelheadedness and bravery." He shifted uncomfortably. "She saved my life."

"Then you should thank her." John said, simply.

Tomar hung his head. "I...I confess I blamed her for...Tiza's death."

John looked at him with shock. "Is that what this has been about?" He was disgusted. "Felicity had nothing to do with that."

"True," Tomar said. "But it doesn't stop me from seeing her on Oa and thinking that Tiza should be here."

"I know." John murmured. "Tiza's death was hard on all of us."

"Not on you." Tomar snapped, clicking his beck. "You went straight on to train your human female."

"Her name," John growled. "Is Felicity. And just because you loved Tiza doesn't give you the right to insult her or belittle her training as a lantern." Tomar reared his head back in surprise. John snorted. "Oh yeah; I knew. The entire corps knew. I just think that if you truly knew Tiza, you'd realize how disgusted she'd be by your actions."

Tomar snorted. "Just so you're aware." He said, crossing his arms and walking towards the door. "The entire corps is aware of your feelings as well."

John frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Of course you don't." Tomar muttered, leaving the room.

* * *

"Why did you not destroy those two puny lanterns when you had the chance?"

Sinestro landed on the asteroid where the other yellow lanterns were hiding. He ignored the one who'd questioned him,, striding over to the hole he'd converted into his room. The other yellow lantern followed. Sinestro rolled his eyes; the creature...he wasn't sure of his name...was insufferable. He kept questioning him. "I do not need to explain my actions to you." He said. The creature kept yapping. Others began to gather. He was their leader, true, but he was not stupid enough to believe that he was safe in that position. An example would have to be made. He struck out and lashed the other yellow lantern across the face. It's purple blood began to flow as it covered its face and jumped back. A silence fell.

"What powers these?" He held up his hand, showing the crudely constructed ring. "WHAT POWERS THESE?" He roared.

"F...fear." One of his followers stuttered.

"And that is exactly what I instilled in those green lanterns." He explained. "Fear. Fear that will spread throughout the corps. Fear that will empower us when we bring them to their knees." He paused, looking at their faces rapt with attention. "But first...I would destroy those who had me banished." He grinned, thinking over his plans to take down Stewart and Jordan. "Tell me." He asked, his followers. "Have any of you ever been to the planet called Earth?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Maybe he's found peace and is trying to become one with the universe." Hal suggested, his voice had a hopeful lilt, but the others weren't convinced. He gave them a rueful smile from the spot on John's bed he'd appropriated when they'd all come in to hear Felicity's misadventure.

"Yes. That's why he killed Tiza." John retorted, dryly, pausing his pacing of his quarters. "For enlightenment." He shook his head. "And why he attacked Felicity and Tomar-Re."

"To be fair, taking a shot at Tomar-Re isn't exactly unusual." Hal muttered. "I'd do it, if I thought I could get away with it."

Felicity smacked his arm. She was sitting in a chair next to him.

"Ouch." he said, rubbing his arm. "I didn't say it was okay to take a shot at you."

John put a hand to his temple. "Why me?" He asked.

Kilowog grunted in amusement. Arisia bit her lip, thinking. "Any ideas as to what he's planning?"

"Standard crazy revenge plot?" Hal suggested. Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Very helpful." She said. "John, did Sinestro have any lanterns that he'd be angered with personally or is it the entire corps?"

John nodded. "Both." He said. "He definitely hates the corps, but Hal and I were responsible for turning him in."

"Yeah and considering the fact that he trained you and helped train me he's probably really pissed." Hal muttered. "Oh fuck. We're in huge trouble, aren't we?" Arisia put her hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"Do you think he'll attack you?" Arisia asked, directing her question at John.

"No." John said. "He knows that does nothing. We're willing to sacrifice our lives for planets and civilizations we've never been to or visited. He knows that attacking us directly is useless." John stopped, looking at Felicity. She understood what he was about to say. It was the same strategy that Slade had used when he'd gone after Oliver.

"So he'll go after people you care about most." Felicity finished. "That way you'd see their pain and feel the responsibility of failing to save them." An uneasy silence fell. John nodded slowly and looked away, not meeting Felicity's eyes.

"Tiza was our friend." Kilowog said. "Do you think he went after Tomar-Re and Felicity because he knew that Felicity-"

"How?" John cut him off.

Felicity frowned. She'd barely left Oa since the ring had chosen her and the perimeter defenses were powerful. "Tarisius IV." She said. "He must have followed us there."

John nodded. "I suppose you're right." He said. "The problem is he'll escalate now that we know he's behind this."

The group offered more suggestions, but no one really knew what to say. Though Felicity had never met Sinestro, she could tell by the nervousness in her friends' words and gestures that they were shaken. Kilowog was motionless, his voice underlain by grunts and small growls. Arisia's eyes darted around them, checking all the doors and exits of the room. Hal was leaning back in his chair, but Felicity saw him run his fingers repeatedly over his ring. John was stiff, his shoulders squared and his hands clasped behind his back.

After about an hour Kilowog announced that he was going to try and get some sleep. Arisia agreed that it was a good idea and Hal followed. Felicity was about to leave when John's voice stopped her.

"Felicity." He had his back to her and was glaring out the window. "I didn't get the chance to ask...are you alright?"

"Yes." She moved to stand next to him. He relaxed his stance slightly, but his expression remained stormy.

"I'm sorry." He said. "It's my fault you were attacked." His voice was distant and low. Felicity sighed.

"I didn't realize you were the yellow lantern." She said, dryly. The corner of John's mouth ticked upwards; a break in his serious armor.

"That's not what I meant." He said.

"I know." Felicity said. "I've seen the whole world weary 'the responsibility for all bad things rests on my shoulders' routine before." She paused, frowning. "Though in this case I guess it's universe weary?"

John turned to look at her, giving her a small smile. "You saying Sinestro would have attacked you even if I hadn't trained you?"

"Maybe." Felicity shrugged. "But I know I wouldn't have been as prepared for it if you hadn't." She shook her head. "Plus, would you believe this isn't the first time a crazy man has tried to kill me? Believe me; I'm fine." They were standing very close to each other. She gulped slightly, raising her chin to look him in the eyes.

"Uh huh." John said. "Well I volunteered for guard duty tonight, but we definitely need to talk about that last comment."

Felicity hesitated. She'd never told the others about her work for Team Arrow. She gave John a smile. "It's a pretty...long story and not an easy one." She admitted.

He nodded. "Whenever you feel like sharing." A silence fell as they stared at each other.

"I should-" Felicity pointed to the door.

"Yeah I have-" John began at the same time. they broke off. He closed his eyes and took a breath, "Felicity there's a reason he singled you out and not Hal or Arisia or Kilowog."

Felicity gripped the window sill.

"It's because..." He hesitated and seem to decide against what he was planning on saying. "You're more vulnerable than they are. You haven't been training for as long so tomorrow, I'm going to-"

"Got it." Felicity interrupted, her disappointment making her response curt and irritated. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Anything else Lantern Stewart?"

He looked away. "No, that's it."

* * *

John watched Felicity leave and sighed, rubbing his temple. Sinestro had targeted her because he knew John extremely well. Sure she was his friend, but if his feelings for her were so obvious that Tomar-Re was aware of them...He left his quarters. Could Sinestro know or had he just targeted Felicity because John trained her? If so would it matter f he...He shook himself, refocusing. The bigger issue was Sinestro's next step. What would he do in order to continue his quest for revenge? Could Earth...no, better not to even entertain the idea. He made his way to the South East watch tower. Flying up, he didn't look at the other lantern on duty. "I'll take over, you're relieved."

"Not really." A familiar voice said.

He turned, looking at the other lantern. Hal was leaning against the side of the tower, his arms crossed. "What are you doing up here?" John sighed.

"I thought I'd take over since I thought you and Felicity were finally going to work out some of that will they won't they mess, but apparently I was wrong." Hal replied. "What gives?"

John glared. "Shouldn't you be with Arisia?"

"Nah, your feelings are more important." Hal said, giving him a wide smile. John was unconvinced. Hal sighed, his shoulders slumped. "This was her idea not mine." he muttered. "I hope you appreciate what I sacrificed."

"Hal, there's nothing between me and Felicity." John said.

"Because you're an idiot." Hal said, holding up a hand as John glared at him. "I say this as your friend; you've been happier since she got here and she...well you're the one she confides in when she's upset and she trusts you more than she does the rest of us." He shrugged. "The two of you have to get your head out of the nebulas and go for it."

John stared out of the watch tower across Oa. "It's complicated and...I'm pretty sure she has someone back on Earth she loves."

"And?" Hal said. "So she liked this guy, odds are by now he's moved on; it's been 2 years."

"Doesn't mean she's over him." John said.

Hal sighed. "Then ask her. Tell her how you feel."

"I'm training her." John retorted. "It's a complete breach of trust to-"

"There's no rules against it." Hal pointed out. "Hell, Arisia and I began dating on a training mission, I never complained about a trainer overstepping her bounds."

"That's you." John said.

"She's practically finished training." Hal said. "And you're both adults. Felicity's not the type of person who'd let anything happen that she didn't agree with." He paused, a look of amusement crossing his features. "You should have seen when Detron tried to ask her out last week..." He laughed. "Oh that was beautiful."

"Wait." John said, turning to look at Hal in horror. "Detron?" An image of the scale covered lantern coming to his mind. "Really?" A cold feeling of anger went through him.

"That's why he's been smelling like fried fish." Hal continued, seemingly unaware of John's change in mood. "Because Felicity burned him so bad." His laughter died as he took in the unamused look on John's face. "Are you jealous?" He asked.

"On Detron's planet, if a female rejects a male it's an indication that he should try harder." John growled. In fact by what he'd read the males would go to extremes. If Felicity didn't know and had turned him down...

"Oh..." Hal said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Well shit. I guess that explains why he was heading towards Felicity quarters when I left the building." He scratched his head. "Huh. Oh well, it can't be that serious, can it?"

John wasn't listening. "Take the watch." He said, flying off towards Felicity's quarters.

* * *

Hal watched him go. Kilowog's head popped over the side of the tower.

"Poozer, did it work?" He said, climbing into the tower,

"Hook line and sinker." Hal said, smirking. "Kilowog and Jordan, matchmakers extraordinaire."


	10. Chapter 10

There was a loud knock on Felicity's door.

"Felicity." It was John's voice. Felicity frowned. Shouldn't he be on watch? She pulled her pajama shirt over her head and went to the door.

"John what's wro-" She jumped back as he pushed his way inside her quarters and looked around. Then he looked over at her.

"Are you okay?" He said, examining her. She flushed and tried to pull her shirt lower; she hadn't intended to let him in and now she was in front of him in her underwear.

"John, what the hell?"

"Detron, is he here, did he try anything?" John said.

"Detron?" Felicity frowned. "The Marisian? Why would he be here?"

"Hal said..." John trailed off, understanding dawning on his face. He closed his eyes and stepped back.

"Yeah, there in lies your first mistake." Felicity crossed her arms. "Trusting anything that _Hal_ says." She fidgeted, stepping from foot to foot. John was looking anywhere but her.

"I should-" He motioned to the door.

"Why-" Felicity said at the same time.

They both stopped, staring at each other.

"Why would Detron be here?" Felicity said. "He's a jerk."

"Hal said he hit on you the other day." John said. "And rejection for Marisians-"

"Is a sign that they need to redouble their efforts and kidnap their mate, holding them hostage until they say yes." Felicity said, smiling at the look of surprise on John's face. "A very smart Lantern suggested that I interest myself in the customs of my fellow lanterns." She shrugged. "I've been reading. It helps when I can't sleep."

John nodded. "So you can see why I was worried." He said.

"No." Felicity said. "Marisians have very strict views about homosexuality. So when he tried to ask me out the other day, Arisia and I pretended to be a couple. He freaked and has stayed far way from me since." She grinned. "He thinks it's contagious." She whispered. John snorted.

"I feel stupid." He said.

"You should." Felicity said. "Because on my planet, pushing your way into a lady's room is rude, even if it was done out of chivalry."

John smiled. "You have a weird planet." He said. "And I would know, I lived there."

Felicity couldn't help the laugh in response.

"I should go." John said. "You must be exhausted, considering..." He didn't want to mention the attack. "Get some sleep. You don't have to come to training tomorrow morning." He went to the door.

"John." Felicity said, he stopped and turned. She knew if he walked out, they'd continue dancing around the issue. "I..." She didn't know how to start. "I'm about to say something, and I'll probably mess it up or say something entirely ridiculous and I want you to hear me out and try to interpret what I mean, which isn't exactly what I say because 5 years ago I met someone that I really care about, but I waited and things got really messy and it was never the right time, until it definitely wasn't the right time and then I got yanked halfway across the universe. Which is why I know that, even if things are crazy or scary right now I can't let that dictate my actions, because if I don't say anything, I'll regret it and I don't want to sit around waiting for something that may be amazing, so..." She took a breath trying to figure out what to say. He was looking at her, silently; an intense look on his face that she didn't know was positive or negative, but she'd gone too far to pull back. "John... I-"

In two strides he was across the room and kissed her, stealing the breath from her lungs. Dizzy, she hung on to his neck, trying to steady herself and keep her footing, she tried to stand on tiptoe. John pulled her up, lifting her off the ground, one arm bracing her lower back as she brought her legs around his waist. This wasn't the reaction she'd been excepting, she thought as she closed her eyes, and gripped the back of his lantern uniform, but she wasn't going to complain. Then John's tongue brushed against her lips and her brain blissfully shut itself off, letting her just feel. Too soon he pulled away.

"Is that what you were going for?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Felicity nodded, trying to form her thoughts into words. "Your arms are big." Was the best she could come up with. John grinned as she flushed and pressed her face into his neck, her legs, flexing slightly and tightening around his waist.

"Felicity." He murmured. "If Sinestro finds out-" She silenced him by pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. He shut his eyes and took in a shuddering breath.

"Let him." Felicity said. 'Every lantern is a target, he doesn't get to force us to live our lives in fear."

John nodded. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked. Felicity pulled back and looked at him in shock. He was serious. There was no hint of humor in his eyes, he was searching her expression for an answer.

"John, I am literally climbing you right now." She said, shaking her head. "What does that tell you?"

He closed his eyes and let out a small huff that sounded like a laugh. "I'm just making sure." He muttered. She laughed. He was always so exact and composed. She'd enjoy trying to break through that military composure. John moved and they fell on her bed, Felicity letting out a yelp.

"You're wearing too many clothes." She complained tugging at the neck of his uniform. He shook his head, amused, reaching for the zipper of his suit as he moved off the bed. Felicity swallowed, her mouth going dry as she watched him pull it off.

"That should make it even." He remarked, standing in front of her in his underwear. Felicity sat up, reaching for him. "Ah ah." He held back her hand. "Fair is fair." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hand, kneeling on the bed between her legs, he slowly lifted her shirt, going slow. She squirmed, the air feeling hot on her skin. John pulled her shirt off. She closed her eyes, her breath coming in small gasps. Every touch burned, she ran her hands on John's back, feeling his neck and back muscles as he moved, pressing his lips to her neck, her collarbones. She arched up, shivering. John was steady, reserved. Not giving into her pleas to go faster.

"John." She breathed. He pushed his hips forward, grinding against her core. She gripped him, "John." She moaned, tugging at his boxers and pulling them down.

"Wait." He murmured, lifting his head. She whined at the loss of contact. "We need condoms." They looked at each other.

"Are there even any on Oa?" She asked.

"I wouldn't know." John admitted.

"We could ask Hal?" Felicity suggested. John squeezed his eyes shut and groaned in disgust. "And I've killed the mood."

"No." John said, pulling back up his boxers. "It's okay. We shouldn't risk you getting pregnant..." He smirked. "Plus we don't know what Detron could have given you." He ducked as Felicity grabbed a pillow and hit him across the back of his shoulders.

"I never touched him." She snapped. "and am I really supposed to believe that after 8 years you never once seduced any grateful female alien whose planet you saved?"

John laughed and blocked the next strike from the pillow. They struggled for a bit. Felicity trying to pull the pillow back while John held it in place, looking amused at Felicity's efforts. She huffed and dropped it, annoyed. "I didn't." He said. "I don't go in for the whole grateful damsel routine." He met her eyes again, she was suddenly painfully aware of her lack of clothes and drew her legs up. If nothing was happening it would be a good idea to make things difficult. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, leaning his hand on the bed, her brushed his fingers against her ankle.

"Don't start something you don't intend to finish." She said, her eyes fluttering closed. John traced his fingers up her legs, nodding.

"I never do." He promised.

* * *

 **Notes:**

The rest of this chapter is on AO3. It has no bearing on the plot, so you won't miss anything.


	11. Chapter 11

John woke to Felicity moving closer to him and pressing her face onto his chest. She was still sleeping and drooling slightly out of her mouth. He smiled, wiping a finger across her lips. She sighed and smiled. "John." She murmured, her eyes blinking open.

"Felicity." He said, threading his hand in her hair. She grinned, closing her eyes and humming contentedly.

"So we did that." She whispered. He nodded.

"Yes we did." He threaded his fingers in hers, moving their hands together.

"It's lucky that my evil trainer decided to be nice and let me have the morning off." Felicity said. John frowned.

"Did I?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Felicity said, amused. "When you were trying to leave here after accusing me of having weird fish sex with Detron. You said I didn't have to come to training this morning."

John shut his eyes, remembering the moment in question. "I guess I did, didn't I." He murmured, rolling over and trapping her beneath him. If they were going to be irresponsible and skip out on training, they could at least enjoy themselves.

"The question is, what am I going to do with all that extra time?" Felicity said, pressing a kiss to his brow.

"I have a few ideas." John said, nipping her neck. He wanted to explore, take his time and learn what drove her wild. She seemed to be in a playful mood.

"I'm sure you do, but..." she gave his shoulder a little push. He moved back and laid back down on his back. "You're not in charge this morning."

"Oh?" He asked. She shook her head.

"Every day you've made me wake up at the crack of dawn...at least it would be if this planet had a sun, to run training exercises." She grinned as she sat up and her fingers danced over his arms. "It's time for some payback."

John crossed his arms and looked up at her in amusement. "Excuse me for trying to train you to make sure you weren't completely vulnerable." He paused, a horrible thought forming. She was running her hands down his sides when he grabbed them.

"Felicity." He said. "I may have given you the morning off, but-"

There was a loud knock at the door. "FELICITY?"

John covered his face. "I didn't tell Kilowog." He muttered.

"Go away." Felicity shouted over her shoulder. She looked back at John. "Don't worry he can't come in here."

"Don't be so sure." He muttered.

"Is that John in there?" It was Hal's voice. This had gone from bad to worse. "It worked!"

"Jordan, leave." John grumbled. True they technically couldn't come in, but he'd known Hal long enough not to underestimate him.

"We need confirmation first." Hal said.

"Hal, leave them alone." Arisia chimed in. So the whole gang was outside. "Hi Felicity. We're really happy for you." Felicity covered her face, turning a burning red. They would never hear the end of this. John got up and covered her with a blanket. Then grabbed his boxers off the ground and pulled them up. Walking to the door, he yanked it open.

"Leave or I blast you." He growled. Hal stuck his head in the room and smirked.

"We brought you these in case you needed them." He held out a box of condoms. "Hey Lis, how was your night?"

"I know what you did." Felicity retorted. "It's not nice to trick people."

"Thank me by letting me make a speech at your wedding." Hal said. John pushed him out, grabbing the box. Behind Hal Kilowog was shaking with silent laughter.

"Enough." He said. "I meant it." His ring glowed menacingly. Hal nodded and let Arisia pull him back.

"I have...a thing." He said, pointing towards the hall. John slammed the door. Felicity covered her mouth, laughing. John took a moment to look at her, her hair was disheveled and there were small marks on the junction between her neck and shoulder. Not that he'd gotten out completely unscathed; she'd left scratches on his upper back. She sat up, the blanket falling off her.

"Like what you see, Lantern Stewart?" She asked.

He was about to answer when another knock came at her door. John groaned.

"Jordan, this isn't funny-" He pulled the door open and froze when he saw Tomar-Re outside the door. Tomar seemed equally surprised to see him half dressed in Felicity's doorway.

"I suppose that explains why I couldn't find you in your quarters." He said, looking John up and down. John crossed his arms. "Get dressed." Tomar ordered. "The two of you are needed next to East watch."

* * *

"Tomar, what is it?" Felicity asked for the third time since they'd left her room. Tomar didn't answer, just clicked his beak and kept flying. Next to East watch, a large plume of smoke was coming out of a crater next to the tower. They landed. John pushed aside a group of Lanterns and walked forward. Felicity followed and covered her mouth, stopping at the edge of the crater. In the center was a large glowing yellow ball of light. John knelt next to it and reached out, touching it. It blasted him backwards. Felicity rushed next to him, helping him sit up. He blinked and rubbed his head. The glow around the object lessened, then disappeared. In the center was a map of Detroit.

"What would Sinestro want with Detroit?" Felicity asked. Around her, the lanterns began whispering. There were a few horrified gasps of 'Sinestro?'

"I'm from Detroit." John said. "He's going after my family."


	12. Chapter 12

John flew to the Guardian's chamber. Felicity, Hal, Kilowog and Arisia followed.

"He's attacking my planet." He said, glaring up at the Guardians. They looked down at him with bored, disinterest.

"Who, Lantern Stewart?"

"Sinestro." John said. There was a murmur of disbelief and irritation.

"He was killed in prison." Another guardian said.

"He's alive." John said. 'Both Felicity and Tomar-Re have seen him."

"Then why did Lantern Tomar-Re and Trainee Smoak, not report this to us themselves?" One of the guardians asked.

"I didn't know how Sinestro was when I saw him." Felicity had stepped forward. There was a rumble of indignation as she addressed the guardians directly. "But I did describe him for you."

The guardians shifted uncomfortably. Whatever description she'd given them was close enough to Sinestro to begin to convince them that she was telling the truth. Tomar-Re followed.

"What Trainee Smoak says is true." He said. "I did not disclose this information because..." He hesitated. "I did not want to believe it."

The guardians looked at him gravely. "What you're saying." The guardian in the center finally spoke up. "Is that there is an individual, who in all probability is Sinestro, going to a planet with a ring so powerful a green lantern cannot hold up against it."

"Not alone." Felicity said. "When Tomar and I combined rings we...it gave us enough of a push back. He can't hold all of us off."

The guardians looked at her. Finally one at the far left end of the dais nodded. "We will send half of the available Lanterns to aid you, Lantern Stewart."

"Half?" Kilowog was outraged.

"We cannot risk the entire corps." The guardian replied.

John nodded. "I'll round up the volunteers."

They were going towards the door of the Guardian chamber when a call from the guardians made them stop. "Not you, Trainee Smoak."

* * *

Felicity froze as the Guardian's order came from the dais. "What?" She asked, turning.

"You are not yet a fully fledged lantern." The guardian said. Felicity glared. John came to her defense.

"She's only about 2 weeks from completing her training."

"I've been here for 2 years," Felicity said. She couldn't believe they were wasting time arguing about this.

"In addition," Tomar spoke up. "She showed great soundness of mind in the face of adversity when we faced off against Sinestro."

Felicity looked over at Tomar. He'd always been borderline rude to her, so praise coming from him was unexpected. "Thank you." She mouthed. He clicked his beak.

"Do not thank me, I would not say it if it was not true." He said, looking back at the guardians.

"She is not yet a full lantern." the guardian 2 seats left of center said. "And she is too personally invested in this." He looked at John. "As are you."

"Hold on a second." John was horrified. Would they take him off the mission?

"We will allow you and Lantern Jordan to go on this expedition, but we cannot risk having an untested trainee in the field, especially one who has begun a romantic liaison with her trainer."

Felicity felt her face burn. How could they possibly know?

"What does that have to do with anything?" John said angrily. "This is my planet and my family that Sinestro is targeting. I trust Trainee Smoak as is if she were a fully fledged lantern."

"You are one of the most level headed Lanterns we've had in years Stewart." The guardian replied. "But right now, you risk reprimand."

John was gearing up to argue when Felicity put her hand on his arm. He had to save his family and the longer they stayed here fighting, the longer Sinestro had to terrorized Earth. She shook her head. "Go and get him."

She followed the other Lanterns out to the main square in front of the dining hall. John hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want to come?" He said. "We can argue with the guardians."

"I'm sure I'm doing the right thing." She said. She pulled him close. "Be careful."

He frowned, searching her face. "Uh huh." He said. "Felicity if you were about to do something bold and reckless that might get you in trouble-" He knew. She silenced him with a kiss.

"You'll have plausible deniability." She replied. He grinned.

"So I guess I see you soon, then."

He and about a hundred lanterns took off. Felicity nonchalantly walked towards one of the watchtowers on the opposite side of the planet. Looking around, she took off following the glow of light from the Lanterns who were heading towards Earth.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't believe Felicity just let them walk over her like that." Hal said as they flew off in the direction of Earth.

"It is true, that it does not sound like her." Arisia agreed. They were trying to kill time and ignore the terrifying reality that they had no idea what they were flying into.

Kilowog was nodding when he glanced behind them and smiled, shaking his head. "Probably because she ignored them and came anyway, Poozer." He motioned behind them. John glanced back. Sure enough, there she was, catching up to them.

"Stewart." Kilowog said. He obviously thought John had helped her or that he would talk her out of it.

John shrugged. "She didn't tell me she was coming." He replied, truthfully. "And I didn't help her defy the guardians." And he wasn't going to stop her. He trusted her judgement and knew that she could handle herself.

"Only because she didn't include you in her plans." Hal muttered. She drew level with them. "Taking the low road, Trainee Smoak. I love it." he held up his hand for a high five. She rolled her eyes, but gave him one.

"There's someone on Earth who can help us." She said, looking at John. "Some of my friends are..." She hesitated. "Well the only word is special. They can help keep your family safe while we work on Sinestro."

"How?" Hal asked, skeptical. John had to agree. While Felicity hadn't told him too many details, she'd hinted at a job outside of her work as a computer technician. She smiled.

"I'll need to go to Starling City, but I'm sure they can help."

"We'll need you up in the air." Kilowog said.

"I think you can spare me for a bit." Felicity said. "After all; I'm not even supposed to be here."

Kilowog grunted in amusement. "And the guardians thought Jordan was hotheaded."

They were passing Saturn when John pulled Felicity aside. "After you get to your friends, I need you to find my mom and Aisha. Get them to safety." He handed her the picture of Aisha. She took it slowly.

"John-"

"They won't believe you without proof. I wrote my mother's address on the back." He reached into his uniform and pulled out his dogtags. "My mom never got these back. You need to convince her. She's a bit tough, but she'll listen."

"Wouldn't it be better coming from you?" Felicity asked. They both knew the answer.

"I'm needed up here." He said. "Just get them hidden and rejoin the corps. When this is over, I'll..." He broke off.

Felicity nodded, putting the dogtags over her head. "We'll deal with after once it gets here."

* * *

Oliver was sitting in the lair. After the assassin attack, Ray Palmer had given them access to his basement. He was off somewhere with Sara time traveling, but he'd signed the company over to Oliver; a decision that the board had been less than pleased with. He looked at the empty computer chair and sighed. They'd gotten a new hacker; a young man who worked for the company named Curtis, but it wasn't the same. She'd been gone two years and yet somehow when he closed his eyes he could still hear her voice-

"Well this is dark and gloomy." A voice said from behind him. He blinked at the chair. That was definitely louder and clearer than he was used to. He turned. She was standing in the entrance of the lair, wearing a strange green and black outfit with a symbol he didn't recognize on her chest.

"Felicity?" He said, hardly daring to believe that she was real. She nodded. He stood, going towards her, intent on kissing her, but she pulled away.

"I need your help." She said. He fought the disappointment and anger.

"Where have you been?" He said.

"That's a long story." Felicity said. "But right now I need you to round up any masks that we might have. Even reach out to Nyssa if you have to. I promise I'll explain, but-"

Oliver shook his head. "You disappear for 2 years and now you just turn up because you need help."

Felicity's expression was grave. "Not just me, Oliver." She stiffened her posture and a green glow began growing from a ring on her hand. "What's coming could affect the entire world." She looked at the door. "I have to go to Detroit, could you meet me at STAR labs as soon as you round everyone up?"

Oliver frowned. "How are you going to get to Detroit, then back to Central City?"

Felicity grinned. The green glow encased her and she floated off the ground. "I have my ways."

Felicity had grabbed some clothes from the lair from what she supposed was Thea's go bag. Though Thea was a bit, taller the clothes were close enough to her size that she could fit into them. She changed in an alley and made her way to the stoop of the house. Checking the back of the photo of baby Aisha, she nodded. This was the place Tugging at the crop top and cursing Thea's habit of wearing short shirts with painted on jeans, she put the picture in the leather jacket. Running her fingers over John's dog tags for reassurance, she walked up to the front door. Ringing the doorbell she took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. John was marshaling the forces up in the sky, and couldn't come down, but it was going to be next to impossible to convince a woman that her son wasn't actually dead, but had spent the last 11 years in space without John being here.

The door opened and a young girl with braids looked up at her. Felicity sucked in a breath. Though she'd only seen a picture of her as a baby, there was no mistaking who she was; Aisha looked exactly like John. They had the same eyes and she was wearing a stiff, suspicious look that mirrored her father's when he was trying to solve a problem.

"Hi." She smiled. "I'm Felicity, is your grandmother home?"

The girl frowned and looked behind her. "GRANDMA." She shouted. "There's a white lady to see you."

Felicity bit back a snort. A woman came to the door. Felicity smiled as she pushed Aisha behind her. "Yes?" She asked.

Felicity hesitated. "My name is Felicity Smoak...and I know this is going to sound crazy, but...I'm a friend of your son's. You and your granddaughter are in grave danger." Inwardly she cursed. The direct approach had sounded like a good idea in her head, but hearing herself say it out loud made her sound completely nuts.

Mrs. Simone Stewart's face closed off. "My son is dead, Ms. Smoak. I don't know what you think you're doing, coming down here and-"

Felicity pulled the picture of Aisha from her pocket. "John's kept this on him. As long as I've known him, he's never been without it." She reached around her neck and pulled off the chain with his dog tags.

Mrs. Stewart looked at the picture, her hand reaching for it. "I sent this to him when he was in Iraq." She whispered. She looked up, pain in her eyes. "Where did you get this?"

"John gave it to me." Felicity said.

"You expect me to believe," Mrs. Stewart's hand shook and she gripped the picture tightly. "That after 11 years, my son would give a picture of his daughter to a stranger instead of coming to tell his own mother that he was alive?" She looked at the dog tags in Felicity's outstretched hand.

"It's complicated." Felicity said. "He was recruited into a..." She decided against saying space police. "Specialized unit. He couldn't make contact with anyone."

"That's not my boy." Mrs. Stewart said. "I know him; he wouldn't let that keep him from letting me know he was safe. And Aisha...he was so excited to be a father. He wanted to finish his tour so he could come back." Tears were falling from her eyes. "Where is he?"

"He's..." Felicity began.

"Cowering behind the support of his fellow lanterns, Mrs. Stewart." A low angry voice said from behind them. Felicity spun around. Sinestro was floating down from the sky. Landing in front of the steps his purplish red face broke into a smile.

"Sinestro." Felicity said, pushing John's mother behind her.

"All the time I trained Stewart all he could whine about was going home to his mother and daughter." Sinestro continued. "I knew they were in the city of DEE-troit, but not where." He smirked. "But humans are predictable. All I had to do was threaten and wait." He frowned. "I did not expect you, though." He began walking up the stairs. "A simple trainee. Now that's-"

"I'll skip the villain speech." Felicity said. Hitting him with a beam from her ring, she blasted him in the stomach, pushing him across the street. Turning back to John's mother she grimaced. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Stewart, but we need to go." She pulled the other woman into the house, slamming the door behind her. "Is there a backyard?"

Mrs. Stewart nodded. "What was he?"

Felicity reached out for Aisha's hand. "I promise I'll explain, but we need to run. Is there anyone else in the house?"

"No." Aisha said. "Where are we going?"

"To see my friend the Flash." Felicity said, pushing open the door to the backyard. Surrounding the three of them with a green energy bubble, she took off, flying them in the direction of Central City. "This is Trainee Smoak," she said, contacting the Corp above her. "Sinestro is already on Earth and he's chasing me. Some back up would be really appreciated as I'm protecting 2 people." She could see a yellow glow forming behind her. A beam shot out and she forced the bubble to the side, but it caught it and tore a hole through the side next to Aisha. The girl almost fell out, but Felicity grabbed her and held her close. Focusing her energy on maintaining the shield, she tried to appear calm. But she knew if someone didn't come soon, she wouldn't be able to hold up the shield or protect anyone.


	14. Chapter 14

Sinestro was closing in and Felicity knew she wouldn't be able to out fly him. In addition she couldn't lead him to STAR labs. Suddenly Kilowog landed between her and Sinestro and swung an enormous green hammer at him. Caught off guard, Sinestro never saw it coming. He went flying in the opposite direction. Hal came down next to them, shading his eyes, to look at him fly away. "FORE." He shouted, whistling in appreciation. "Nice swing, Kilowog." He glanced over at Felicity and frowned at her clothes. "What are you wearing?" He smirked. "Wait till Johnny sees that number he's going to-"

"Poozer." Kilowog warned, looking at Mrs. Stewart and Aisha.

"Give you a stern talking to." Hal gulped and smiled.

"I borrowed them from a friend." Felicity said. "We should move before he comes back." She flew them to STAR labs. They landed outside the building.

"What is going on?" Mrs. Stewart said. "Who was that?"

"I promise I'll explain everything, we just need to get inside." Felicity put Aisha down and motioned towards the lab entrance.

"You're exposed out here." Kilowog explained. Mrs. Stewart looked up at him and nodded slowly. Taking Aisha's hand, she followed Felicity into the lab.

The lab looked relatively unchanged. Barry was out, but Caitlin was running an experiment while Cisco was sitting in front of the computer screens with a slushie. He sat up in alarm.

"Wow, this isn't an open...holy..." He'd caught sight of Kilowog. "What are you?" He stood and ran over to him, poking him in the arm. "What earth did you come from?"

"None." Felicity said.

"Thanks Felicity's that very..." Cisco trailed off and looked at her, his eyes widening. "FELICITY!" He jumped and hugged her. "Oh my god we thought you were dead or abducted by aliens or both."

"I'm not dead." Felicity said as Cisco squeezed her. "But I was abducted by aliens."

"This guy?" Cisco pointed at Kilowog. He reached out and grabbed Kilowog's arm. He shuddered and went into a trance.

"Cisco." Felicity yanked his hand off. "What the hell?"

"I was seeing what I could vibe." He explained. "Oh right, you missed that. I'm a metahuman."

"A what?" Hal asked.

Felicity sighed. "The world got weird after you left...and apparently even weirder since I've been gone." She smiled over at Caitlin who was walking into the room "Hey Caitlin." Caitlin hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She said. "Barry and Oliver were losing their minds."

Hal and Kilowog looked at each other. "Who are these Barry and Oliver of which you speak?" Hal asked, smirking.

"World ending crisis." Felicity snapped.

"John needs to know about his competition." Hal retorted. "I'm just being a good bro."

Barry zoomed in full uniform carrying a woman in a yellow and black suit. "I got Vixen, is Oliver here yet?" He asked. "What the..." He looked at Kilowog, Hal and Felicity. "Okay, someone needs to explain what's happening."

"There's a very dangerous alien threat to Earth and he's going to be targeting Mrs. Stewart and her granddaughter." Felicity explained. "We need you to keep them safe." She motioned to them. "If anything that glows yellow comes near, take it out. If it's green it's good. Green good, yellow bad."

The woman Barry had referred to as Vixen looked at her curiously. "You're Felicity." She said.

Before Felicity could answer John's voice came out of her ring.

"All lanterns mobilize on my coordinates."

Mrs. Stewart almost fainted. Kilowog grabbed her before she could fall. She covered her mouth. "John." She gasped.

Felicity nodded. "We need to meet him, but as soon as this is over I'll make sure he comes to you."

"Uh, Lis." Hal was looking out of the window of the lab. "We have a problem."

She walked over to stand next to him. In the sky above, yellow lights were forming. "Are those-"

"Yup." Hal said. "Looks like Sinestro brought friends."

* * *

Above the planet Arisia and John looked down in horror with the rest of the Corps members as the squadron of yellow lanterns began forming a sort of protective bubble around Earth.

"Hal, Kilowog, and Felicity are trapped." Tomar-Re said.

"No, this is good." John said. "This way we can attack on both sides."

"3 lanterns hardly makes an attack force." Tomar pointed out.

"It's better than nothing." John said.

"Besides." Arisia said. "If Felicity's right about her friends on Earth, she's probably got something planned and Hal's resourceful. Plus they've got Kilowog with them. They'll hammer through in no time. There's more of us then there are of them." She was clearly trying to stay positive.

"If what Tomar said about their rings is true," John murmured. "That might not matter."

* * *

"Felicity what the hell is going on?" Oliver said as he and the other members of team arrow came into the lab.

Digg gaped at her. "Felicity?"

"Hey." She said. "Can we leave the shock and awe of my reappearance for after we deal with the lanterns?"

Thea frowned at Felicity. "Are those my clothes?"

Felicity sighed and activated her ring, changing her clothes into her lantern uniform. "Those Yellow lanterns are trying to destroy earth. Their leader is mad at Hal." She pointed at Hal, who sputtered, "and..." Her eyes flickered to Mrs. Stewart and Aisha before continuing. "And another friend of ours who's also human. Sinestro wants to hurt the people they care about."

"A large portion of the Green Lantern Corps is on the other side of the barrier," Hal said. "but how are they going to break through if our rings don't work against them?"

Digg's phone rang. "It's Lyla." He said, moving off to the side to take the call.

"We can take Mrs. Stewart and Aisha to Evil Wells' panic room." Cisco said. Mrs. Stewart frowned at him. "It's not as terrible as it sounds." He said.

"The second we fly out of here, they'll zero in on us." Felicity said. "And there's way more of them than there are of us." She looked around taking stock of the other heroes. Oliver, Thea, Laurel and Digg were unenhanced and good with hand to hand, but would be at a disadvantage. Perhaps together they could take out one Yellow lantern. Barry would definitely be an asset. It was Vixen that she wasn't sure about. "What can you do?"

"I can channel animals." Vixen replied.

"She's also really skilled in hand to hand combat." Oliver said. Felicity noted that since he'd entered the room, the two of them had been nervously looking out of the corner of their eyes, both missing each other each time. Oliver cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. Felicity rolled her eyes; he was so transparent.

Looking around, she saw that Digg was coming off the phone; a worried expression on his face. "Digg, what did Lyla say?"

"ARGUS launched a missile against the barrier over the pacific ocean. It didn't even dent it."

Felicity tapped her ring. "Lantern Stewart can you hear us?" There was no answer. "John? Arisia? Tomar?...Detron? Anyone?"

"Detron?" Hal snorted.

"Focus Jordan." Kilowog grunted.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to call someone in a crisis, it shouldn't be Detron. Unless you're trapped at the bottom of an ocean-"

"Hal." Felicity and Kilowog said.

"Shutting up." He said.

So they couldn't get through. Felicity bit her lip, glaring at the window.

"Is it just me...or is the barrier getting stronger?" She asked.

"Something's feeding it." Hal agreed. "Oxygen?"

"Actually the atmosphere is mostly made of nitrogen." Felicity said, frowning; a swooping feeling of helplessness going through her. She turned and looked at the others. Varying degrees of nervousness and apprehension were evident on their faces. Aisha looked at up at her grandmother.

"I'm scared." She said.

Felicity frowned. "Concentration."

"What?" Hal said.

"Our rings are powered by focus and will." She said. "What happens when we can't do those things?"

"The rings don't work." Kilowog said slowly. "And one of the biggest killers of concentration..." He grinned. "Is fear." He smacked Hal on the back causing him to stumble forward. "Great thinking, Smoak."

"That's why our rings don't work against them." Felicity said. "They're powered by fear."

"And what gives us more fear than a planet wide alien invasion." Hal agreed. "we need to tell the others to keep calm."

"We have an entire planet to keep calm." Kilowog said.

Felicity looked over at the computers. "I have an idea."


	15. Chapter 15

Felicity cracked her knuckles and set to work. "Hello babies. I've missed you."

"Um, my babies." Cisco said. "And a couple things have changed in the last two years."

"Something tells me I can keep up." Felicity said. "Digg, get Lyla on the phone. Tell her I'm about to launch a major hack from STAR labs and I'm going to need ARGUS' help to transmit it."

Digg nodded.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked, coming to stand behind her.

"They want fear." Felicity said. "We're going to counter them. We're going to give the people some hope." She looked over at Cisco. "Do you have a camcorder?"

He nodded.

"Good." She looked at the others. "All those of you in costume, get in front of the camera and think of something inspirational and hopeful." She waved her hands distractedly. Hal pushed Oliver out of the way to see what Felicity was doing. Oliver was about to protest when Kilowog shot him a look. He relented, moving to stand by Thea and Vixen. Felicity focused on connecting the stream she was setting up with all radiowaves, wifi and television frequencies. Cisco handed her a camera that she hooked up to a computer.

"How are you going to make sure that everyone understands?" Thea asked. Felicity smiled.

"I have an idea." She said.

"Will it work?" Laurel asked.

"Hopefully." Felicity muttered, ARGUS' servers had just made contact and were beginning to boost the strength of the signal.

"Hopefully?" Laurel asked. Felicity sighed.

"The last thing we can do right now is not give into fear." She pointed towards the window where the strength of the yellow barrier was growing. "It only helps them. So let me do this, keep calm and find something happy to say."

* * *

All across the world people were looking up at the sky in terror. They held their families and loved ones close. Some panicked, others became hysterical. Some thought it was a sign. But one thing was universal; fear. All over the planet people were completely paralyzed by fear and the more they looked up at the yellow glowing barrier, the more scared they became.

Then suddenly radios, TVs, cellphones, and computers began broadcasting a message.

* * *

Felicity watched as Barry, Oliver, and the others tried to assuage people's fears. She was pointing her ring at the consul, focusing on the universal translator. The signal was successfully broadcasting, but she wasn't sure how long she could hold it. Kilowog pointed his ring at the computer and mirrored her actions. Hal joined them on her other side. Their combined efforts boosted the signal.

"What we need you to do now." Barry said. "Is try for some hope. Those people up there think they can tear us apart through intimidation, but humanity is capable of great things and it's in times of hardship that we prove that."

Cisco made a cut motion with his hand and shut off the camera. Felicity, Hal, and Kilowog turned off their rings. Felicity slumped against Kilowog and wiped at at her nose. A small trickle of blood had begun.

"My brain hurts." She said, grinning up at Kilowog. "But I think we did it."

"Well it wasn't exactly Independence day speech level." Cisco said. "But-"

"Cisco." Vixen cut him off. "It'll work." Her tone brokered no argument. "We should try to be a little hopeful."

"Look." Aisha pointed outside. They all crowded to look out the window. Felicity felt a bit dizzy, but still managed to walk over, with Kilowog leading her. The barrier was still there, but it wasn't growing stronger. In fact, it was beginning to thin. Not enough to break through, but it was a start.

"Yes!" Felicity punched her fist into the air. Hal grinned.

"Nice going, Lis." He said.

"It's not over yet." Felicity said. They still had to break through. They needed to tell the others. She looked around, trying to formulate a plan.

Kilowog looked around at the others. "I don't suppose any of you know how to go through walls?" He grunted.

Barry and Cisco shared a look. Felicity's eyes narrowed. "Boys. Anything you'd like to share with the class?"

"I...might be able to." Barry said.

"He's definitely able to." Cisco supplied. "He just needs to vibrate his molecules at the right frequency."

"That kind of ability must make you very popular." Felicity muttered. Then clapped her hand over her mouth. Hal burst out laughing as Kilowog frowned in confusion.

"What?" He said.

"Nothing." Felicity said, glaring at Hal who'd opened his mouth, presumably to deliver a very detailed explanation. "Barry, could you potentially send someone else through?"

"No." Barry said, frowning. "I don't think anyone could survive that level of vibration." Cisco snorted and looked away.

"What if the person were shielded?" Felicity asked, activating her ring and holding out her hand. Barry hesitated, then began vibrating. Reaching out, he took Felicity's hand. The sensation was bizarre. The best way Felicity could think to describe was that it felt like a bee sounded. Barry walked forward and went through the computer consul, leading Felicity through after him. A feeling of cold swept hit her stomach and legs as she walked through. "Okay..." She said. "Do you think, if I could get you up there-"

"No." Oliver said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "She's going to go through. You can't breathe up there, you might-"

Felicity crossed her arms. "I'm the smallest, so it makes more sense for me to go through."

"Then give your shield ring to someone else." Oliver said. "We just got you back, you can't just leave again."

"It won't work for anyone else." Hal said.

"We don't have time for arguments." Felicity said. "We're going to need a diversion. All of you give us cover." She turned to Cisco. "Do you have any weapons that can make large amounts of destruction and noise?"

Cisco looked nervous. "Um...maybe?"

"He does." Barry said. "What?" He shrugged as Cisco glared at him. "You threw me under the bus first."

Caitlin shook her head. "Plus, we all know about your not so secret, secret lab."

Cisco grumbled and went off to collect his inventions. Felicity turned to Mrs. Stewart and Aisha. "There's a secret room in here. You can stay there with Dr. Snow. She'll keep you safe."

Mrs. Stewart took Felicity's hand and put John's dogtags in her palm. "You saved me and my granddaughter."

"I can't take these." Felicity said, shaking her head, trying to give them back.

"After this is over." Mrs. Stewart said. "You bring me my son, or bring me these." She looked at her intently. "That way I'll know for sure." Felicity swallowed and was about to respond when she squeezed her hand. "Promise me."

Felicity nodded, squeezing the chain. "I will." She said softly. Turning, she put it around her neck and tucked it into her uniform. "Barry. Ready to fly?"

He nodded.

* * *

John and Arisia were leading two attacks on the barrier on opposite ends of the planet. The yellow lanterns weren't moving. They just stood there as the Corps' beams bounced off the barrier.

"Fall back." John ordered. "We're wasting our energy."

"Why are they just standing there?" Tomar hissed.

"Because they know we can't do anything against them." John grumbled. "Arisia, how are things on your end?"

"The barrier is fluctuating and appears to be getting weaker." Arisia replied. "But it's not coming from our efforts."

She was right. The barrier was thinning. John heard murmurs from the other lanterns. They were gaining confidence.

"Whatever the others are doing, it's working." Arisia said.

"Hit the barriers again." John ordered. "Concentrate the beams at the exact opposite polarity of our attack."

"John." Arisia said. "If this works they're going to run at us."

"Then we'll have to be ready for them." John said.

John and the others combined their ring power and shot and amplified beam at the barrier. It was already weakening and began rippling. It was working. He was already planning the next phase of the attack when a ripple in the barrier moving in the opposite direction hit their position. It was if a smaller rock had been thrown into the pond next to their beam. "Arisia are you directly opposite us?"

"Yes." Arisia replied. "Why?"

John broke away, indicating to Tomar that the others should continue the assault. "Something's breaking through from the inside." He followed the ripples. The yellow lanterns close to the point of origin went inside the barrier, intent on attacking whoever was trying to get through. There was a faint growing green light in the sea of yellow. John blasted a spot about 30 feet from the person coming through. The yellow lantern who was next to it paused and turned towards John. "I'm here." He shouted. "All alone without back up. Come get me."

The yellow lantern appeared to be making up his mind whether or not to act when Felicity broke through the barrier dragging a man in a red suit behind her. She shielded them both and dragged him forward, dodging yellow blasts as she went. There was a small hole in the barrier, but it closed behind her. John swooped in and blocked the strike of the yellow lantern. The beam shattered the green shield, but it dissipated. The Yellow lantern who'd fired it looked at his ring in horror and flew past them, fleeing into the emptiness of space. John was about to chase when Felicity grabbed him. "Let him go."

She was pale and tired. He put his hands on the sides of her face and looked at her. She'd clearly over extended herself. "Are you okay?"

"I could use a vacation." She said. "Somewhere with a beach and drinks that are served in coconuts." She gripped his hands, "you in?"

John nodded, giving her a small smile.

"They feed on fear." She continued. "We're trying to keep the planet calm, but you needed to know." She motioned to the man next to her. "This is my friend Barry. He might be able to help."

John raised an eyebrow at Barry. He was looking around, his eyes wide. "This...is awesome." he laughed. "I'm actually in space!"

"Barry!" Felicity said, snapping him back to focus. "If I give you a surface to run on, can you do the lightning throwing thing?"

Barry nodded.

She held out her ring. "I need to maintain the field around him, can you give him something to run on from here to the surface of the barrier?" She looked up at John. He had no idea what she was planning, but she clearly knew Barry's abilities and if she believed this would work, he'd go along with it. He was about to create a ramp, when he noticed something; Felicity's ring was fluctuating slightly; she was running out of power. Helping Barry through, might be the end of her power until she could charge it.

"Felicity when was the last time you charged your ring?" He asked.

Her guilty expression said it all.

"Go back through with Barry." He said. "You won't be able to breath up here if your ring shorts out."

"Okay." She agreed, she agreed, glancing at Barry who was squinting at the stars and trying to identify different celestial bodies. "Still need the platform."

"And you'll have it." John said. "My mom?"

"Both she and Aisha are safe." Felicity reassured. "But she's probably going to yell at you for letting her think you were dead for 11 years. I promised her I'd bring you back."

John winced and gave her a small smile. That sounded like his mom. He pointed his ring at the barrier and created a ramp directly to the surface of the barrier. "I'll make sure you keep your promise."

"One last thing." Felicity said. She kissed him. Her lips were soft and slightly chapped, but he responded, hungrily. After all, neither of them knew whether they'd see each other again. "I'll see you on the other side." She murmured as she pulled away.

"You can count on it." He replied. She poked Barry, who was gaping at them, in the arm.

"Get moving." She said. He nodded, dazed.

"I'll need my arms free." He said.

"Then you'll have to give me a piggyback ride." She said. Barry gulped and looked over at John.

"Full disclosure, we didn't date. She's nice and smart, but-"

John shook his head. "Just keep her in one piece."

Felicity hung on to Barry and he ran down the ramp John created. He was moving unbelievably fast and John was sure he could see flashes of lightning hitting the barrier in front of him. The barrier began to splinter and tears and cracks became visible. It was working. In a blink of an eye they were through, the barrier broke,...and the yellow lanterns swarmed.


	16. Chapter 16

Oliver helped the others cover Barry and Felicity's breach through the barrier. The second they began going through, Yellow lanterns began moving towards their position. Felicity pulled Barry through and Oliver could see another green light, similar to Felicity's flickering on the outside of the barrier.

"That's probably John." The other human lantern named Hal, hand flown over. "He's one of our best and if he's covering her and your friend, they'll definitely be okay." He blasted the disappearing rift where Felicity and Barry had gone through, but it disappeared.

"Lock and load." Cisco shouted. He was carrying an array of specialized weapons. He handed a gun to Laurel. "Sonic blaster for the lady." He turned to Thea. "Electromagnetic sword for the other lady." Thea took it and sliced the air in front of her, sparks flying.

"Awesome." She grinned.

"New tricked out arrows." He handed a quiver to Oliver. "And an array of blaster guns." He turned to Digg. "They're still prototypes, so be-"

Digg took the gun and it set off a pulse, making a hole in the ground.

"Careful." Cisco finished. "Next time, point it at the bad guys."

"They're not moving." Mari was standing next to him, looking up at the barrier.

"We're not a threat to them." Oliver growled. "They're after the people like Felicity and her two friends."

"She seems nice." Mari commented. Oliver closed his eyes.

"She is." He murmured. "Mari, I-"

"She already knows." Mari kept her eyes up at the sky. Oliver felt a cold shiver of dread.

"What?" He growled. Mari raised an eyebrow.

"You're not subtle. I sensed that she picked up on something the second I came into the room." She smirked. "You're not that good at hiding things from anyone."

"Was she upset?" He murmured. Mari was about to answer when the barrier broke open. Felicity and Barry tumbled through the hole...and began a free fall. As they came closer and closer Oliver noticed that Felicity's light wasn't working.

"Her ring's out of power." The pink alien growled. "How many times have I told her to charge it?" He took off, flying up towards them. Grabbing Felicity and Barry out of the air, he slowly floated back down. The hole they'd left behind was creating a tear in the barrier.

"John's got us covered on the other side." She said. She glared down at the ring on her fingers. "I really wish I could help you guys."

"That'll teach you to keep your ring charged." Hal muttered.

Cisco tossed her a weapon. She caught it. "What is this?"

"I've been toying around with creating a lightsaber." He explained. "But it just shots large beams when you press the button."

Felicity nodded. "I'll stay on the ground, then."

The pink alien and Hal took off, firing beams out of their rings. Felicity moved so she was next to Digg. The barrier was gone and overhead, flashes of green and yellow light collided. Felicity seemed upset, nervous. She clearly cared about the people up there...or was it just this John she and her friends kept mentioning. Oliver frowned. Mari shook her head.

"Totally not obvious." She muttered.

"Incoming." Barry warned. Oliver pulled an arrow from his bow and prepared for the onslaught. A group of 4 yellow lanterns were coming straight at them. Felicity pressed the button on her machine and it sent out a blast so powerful that it knocked her off her feet. It hit the front most lantern, making it falter slightly.

* * *

The creatures were slow and untrained. They relied completely on their power rings. Felicity focused on hitting them on their ring hand. If they managed to knock it off their fingers, they would be rendered powerless.

"Zero in on the ring." She instructed to the others. It took a while, but they managed to get one down, one fled in terror. The other two kept fighting. Felicity was going to keep fighting, when she caught yellow movement out of the corner of her eye. Sinestro was sneaking into STAR labs. She took off after him. Dodging beams of yellow light, she raced to the door. Her ring lost the last reserve of power and her suit turned back into Thea's clothes.

"Great." She muttered, slipping into STAR labs. "Now I get to fight wearing less protection than a woman in a video game." She crept along the halls, pressing herself against the wall, gripping the not a lightsaber tightly in her hand. Ahead she heard Sinestro muttering to himself.

"They must be here." He growled. "Why else would they all congregate outside?" There was a crashing noise. Felicity took a deep breath, while she knew the room Caitlin had hidden with John's mother and daughter was secure, she didn't know if it would hold up to Sinestro's crazed determination...and even if it did, the lab wouldn't.

"Getting ready to do something stupid." She muttered to herself. Gripping the energy blaster higher, she stepped into the main lab. "Don't you know it's rude to come into other people's places and break their stuff?" She called out. Sinestro turned and looked at her in surprise. His face twisted into a mad grin.

"You again?" He asked. "I have my suspicions about you, little girl." They began circling each other.

"Really?" Felicity said. "We're winning. We figured out how your knock off rings work and we're taking you down. Your army is fleeing."

"They would never." Sinestro hissed. "They fear me."

"And that's your mistake." Felicity retorted. He shook his head.

"Even if I lose some today, there will always be more." He glanced at her ring. "I see you're out of power with only that stupid weapon to protect you."

"Thank you captain obvious." Felicity hissed.

"You're fortunate that I won't kill you outright." He said.

Felicity paused. "Why not? Not that I'm complaining, I like the idea of not being killed, but I'm sure there's a reason." She had to keep him talking. Keep him talking and distracted so that he could marshal his troops into order or hurt anyone...well besides her anyway. She gulped.

"Stewart." Sinestro hissed. "He cares for you."

"Well, I'm a member of the green lantern corps and he trained me." Felicity said.

"This goes beyond that." Sinestro stepped forward. "He trusted you to ensure his family's safety. Why you and not Jordan or Kilowog?" He chuckled. "After all, he's known them longer." He laughed. "Who'd have known that the honorable, unflappable John Stewart would be brought low by something as simple as a female of his species?"

Felicity looked at him in disgust. "Seriously? What's next; I'm his weakness and you'll keep me alive just long enough to throw my lifeless body at his feet? " She scoffed. "You don't know either of us. He trusted me because I was most recently on earth."

Sinestro's expression faltered. He was questioning his version of events...then a glint of amusement entered his eyes. "I admit you almost had me fooled." He reached out and grabbed the dog tags around Felicity's neck. "But your weak human sentimentality betrays you." He pulled at the chain bringing Felicity closer. She scruntched her nose in horror as his breath hit her face.

"Floss much?" She said, turning her face away.

"I trained John Stewart. I saw him wear these every day on Oa. He'd have never parted with them." He sneered. "Unless you mattered. He loves you."

Felicity bit her lip. "Interesting theory." She replied. "Not that this conversation hasn't been fun but...gotta blast." She pressed the button on Cisco's device. It hit him square in the chest, propelling him backwards. He yanked the chain holding the dogtags from Felicity's neck. It burned and she was pulled forward. Coughing and rubbing her neck, she pointed the blaster at him again. "That's not yours." She hit him again. He groaned and tried to scramble to his feet. "What kind of a monster," She hit him again. "Tries to destroy an entire planet." She hit him a fourth time. "Over a personal" blast "Grudge?" She hit him a sixth time and he went down. She took a sharp breath and looked down at his immobile form. "Welcome to Earth." She said

Stepping closer she nudged him with her foot. He was really unconscious. Prying open his fingers, she pulled the dog tags out of his fist and stuffed them in her pocket. Grabbing his ring, she walked outside. "I need someone to throw a very unconscious, but still dangerous alien in a cell in the pipeline." She said.

"On it." Barry zipped inside and was back next to her within a minute. "Done."

"Good." She breathed easier and looked up at the sky.

Up above, the yellow lanterns were waning, but it was clear they were hurting the Corps. The Green Lanterns could win, but it would be a painful, costly victory. She looked at the yellow ring in her hand. She might not have any power in her green ring, but...She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. She was definitely going to regret this. Putting the yellow ring on her finger, she winced as it rushed through her. The ring was painful, but she could use it. Flying up, she began targeting yellow lanterns.

* * *

 **Notes:**

I know people are going to say "Vixen and Oliver what the hell?" But in Flashpoint they have a daughter together.


	17. Chapter 17

"One of the Yellow lanterns is attacking other yellow lanterns." Lantern Fali'ara informed John as he fought against one of the yellow lanterns. "I believe..." She paused. "It's trainee Smoak"

"What?" John said, breaking his concentration. He had to dive forward to avoid a blast of yellow light. Gearing up for another confrontation, he lifted his ring. He wasn't fast enough. The beam of yellow light came at him as if in slow motion. He braced himself to create a shield, when a beam of yellow light hit the oncoming strike. Felicity flew in front of him and held out a strange device. Pressing a button, she hit the Yellow Lantern. He flew backwards. Looking at her in horror, he turned and flew away.

"They're not very loyal are they?" She gasped out, her hand going to her chest. Her breathing was shallow, labored. John flew over to her. "Sinestro's down on the surface. My friends are putting him in a cell."

"The ring?" He asked, looking at her in concern."

"His." She gasped. "It hurts to use it though."

"Then stop." He pulled her into his shield and pulled off the ring. She groaned in relief. Around them more Yellow lanterns were fleeing. The disappearance of their leader was making them skittish. The Corps was winning. The continued absence of Sinestro coupled with Felicity's attacks on their numbers were enough to make them panic and scatter. They flew away.

"Should we chase them?" Felicity asked.

He shook his head. She'd completely burnt herself out and yet she was still ready to go. "I think you've done enough." He pulled her close, putting his head on top of hers. She relaxed, collapsing against him.

"Tired." She mumbled.

"I'll bet." He said, amused.

"I beat Sinestro." She said, pulling her head back and looking up at him, unable to keep her eyes open.

"You were unbelievably brave." He murmured. "Come on, we need to go-"

"To earth." Felicity cut him off. "I made your mom a promise." She yawned. "Plus I need to see my mom and sleep for about a week." She looked down at the yellow ring in his hand. "And throw that thing in the fires of Mount Doom."

He smiled. "Tomar. Lead the other lanterns back to Oa. I have some personal things to deal with, but I'll follow you soon enough."

Tomar-Re nodded, clicking his beak, looking at Felicity. "I trust you will return."

"Of course." John said.

"Good." Tomar-Re replied. "Because it would not do for me to appear a fool in front of the guardians telling them of Lantern Smoak's bravery and skill if the two of you are planning to desert."

"You're mean when you're being nice." Felicity muttered.

"Indeed." Tomar said. He turned and began rounding up the corps. John watched as they began their return voyage to Oa. Arisia joined him.

"I'll return with you." She said.

When he landed them in front of a large building in Central City, John was almost knocked over by Hal.

"We won." He said, jumping up and down.

"Be careful." John pulled Felicity away from him. "She's been drained by the yellow ring. Sinestro?" Hal moved away and grabbed Arisia, spinning her around and kissing her.

"Angry red goblin man's in a cell in the pipeline." A young man with long black hair replied. "Cisco Ramon." He held out his hand.

"John Stewart." He said.

"Then I think there's some people who want to say hi to you." He led them inside the building. There was a large laboratory and sitting in the center was-

"Mom." He said, putting Felicity down on a chair and walking up to her.

"Johnny." She was shaking. She covered her mouth. "You're alive." She moved forward, reaching out her hand to touch his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned closer. She pulled him in, hugging him fiercely. John pressed his lips together trying hard not to cry as he hugged her.

"I'm sorry, mom." He managed to say, his voice cracked.

"Your friend...Kilowog? explained that you had no choice." She said. "I'm just happy to see you alive, baby." She turned behind her and reached out her hand towards a little girl standing behind her. John's eyes widened.

"Aisha?" He asked.

"We should...go." Cisco said. "Leave you alone." He ushered the others out of the main lab. Felicity was trying to get up from her chair. John wanted her to stay and opened his mouth to say it when-

"Stay." It was his mom who'd spoken. "You saved our lives."

Felicity hesitated, but sank back down on the chair. Her eyes closing. She'd been weakened by the battle. "I'll just fall asleep." She murmured. John watched her, making sure she was okay before turning back to Aisha.

"Hi." He said. "I'm sorry I missed so much, but..." He gulped.

"You work in space?" She asked.

He nodded. "I'm going to try to come back to visit you more often." He said, kneeling down. "I don't want to miss anymore."

She hugged him. He closed his eyes, holding her close.

* * *

When Felicity woke up she was in an unfamiliar room. The walls were painted blue and there were posters of various sports teams on the walls. Getting up, she stretched. She was no longer wearing Thea's clothes, instead she had on a US marine's shirt with a pair of boxer shorts she didn't recognize. She frowned, looking around. There was a picture on the desk. Walking over she frowned, picking it up. It was a picture of John as a child with his basketball team. He was beaming at the camera, one of his teeth missing. She smiled. He was too adorable. She yawned and looked around.

Her stomach growled; she was starving. She turned, intent on going towards the door. As she reached for the handle it opened and Aisha peeked her head in. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Felicity.

"SHE'S AWAKE." She shouted over her shoulder. There were running footfalls and John opened the door wider.

"Hi." He said, smiling.

"Hi." She said; a warm feeling spreading through her stomach. "We won, right? I didn't dream it?"

He nodded. "Yes. And we're taking a bit of a vacation. I'm sorry there's no beach and coconut drinks, but you passed out."

Aisha ran forward and hugged her. "You kept that evil guy away from me and grandma." She said.

"Aisha, she probably needs rest." John murmured. Felicity's stomach gurgled and she pressed a hand to it.

"I need food." Felicity said as Aisha giggled. "How long have I been out?" She asked.

"About 26 hours." John said, he was about to go to the door. "I think I should warn you-"

The sound of thumping footfalls coming up the stairs sounding in the hall outside. "LISSIE"

Felicity's eyes widened as her mother rushed through the door running at her and squeezing her. "You looked so good. A little pale, but.." She squeezed her upper arms. "Are those muscles?"

"Mom." Felicity was shaking and she realized she was crying. "I'm sorry." She hugged her tight. Donna patted her back.

"You must be if you're accepting one of my hugs." She said, holding her close. "Oh baby. Simone told me about your job. Are you staying safe?"

"Um..." Felicity wasn't sure how to answer. John was smothering a laugh. She glared at him. "Sure mom."

"Your mom's been telling me tons of stories about you." John said. Felicity grit her teeth.

"Food?" She asked.

"Downstairs." He motioned over his shoulder. She walked out, her mom clinging to her talking. She smiled. Any other time she would have been annoyed, but she'd missed it. Behind her, John and Aisha followed. Mrs. Stewart was in the kitchen with Hal, Arisia and Kilowog. Kilowog was helping Mrs. Stewart at the stove while Hal had his hands in the sink, cleaning the dishes. Arisia was sitting at the table. They were all wearing human clothes, which was hilarious. Kilowog was wearing an overlarge white t shirt which would even have been big on John, but was still stretched on him, paired with an extra large pair of sweat pants that looked like capris. Arisia had clearly borrowed a dress from Felicity's mom.

"Felicity." Arisia jumped up and hugged her. "Earth is amazing."

"You've been outside?"

"I took her for a walk." Hal said. "A hat to cover her ears and no one would know her from a regular person."

"And the yellow skin?" Felicity asked.

"It was dark." Arisia admitted, leading her to the table. "We're staying until you get better."

Felicity sat heavily down on the chair. Mrs. Stewart put a plate of waffles in front of her with a bowl of fresh fruit.

"Thank you, Mrs. Stewart." She said, grabbing a knife and gratefully taking a bite.

"Thank you for keeping your promise." She looked over at John.

They stayed up late into the night. Felicity covered her face and winced as Donna told childhood stories, but John's mother countered with tales of her own that made John clear his throat loudly and fidget.

Too soon Felicity was yawning and leaning her head on her mother's shoulder.

"You need sleep." Donna said, smoothing her hair.

"I slept all of yesterday." Felicity mumbled, but her head grew heavier, her eyes fluttering closed. There was a warmth pressed against her cheek and something lifted her off the couch. She hung on to the person. "John?" She asked.

"No. It's Detron." John replied.

"Not funny." Felicity muttered. "He wanted to lock me up to make half fish babies with him." She shuddered and yawned again. John put her back down in the bed she'd woken up in that morning. "Nice room; I like the variety in decoration style." She motioned to the sports paraphernalia.

John walked over to his closet. "What I'm about to show you, no one else has seen." He said, putting his hand on the doorknob. "Can I trust you?"

"Definitely not." Felicity rolled onto her side and propping her head up on her hand, suddenly alert. John chuckled and opened it. Pushing back his clothes, he pulled out a box. Felicity frowned as he brought it over. Opening the lid, he showed her it's contents.

"I told you I was a Star Trek fan." He said as Felicity sat up and began pulling out video cassettes, posters and books.

"Is this..." Felicity grinned, pulling out a blue and black shirt. "A Spock costume?"

"No." John said. "That's clearly a medical uniform. I dressed up as Dr. M'Benga. He was a character in the original series and..." He frowned at Felicity. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No." She said, smirking and reaching into the box to pull out a piece of yellow curved metal. "Lieutenant LaForge."

"Ah ha." John said, grinning as he took the visor from her. "I knew you liked Star Trek."

"I'm a geek. I've seen some Trek and Star Wars, I just like Doctor Who best." She pulled out the yellow uniform and held it up. "Wanna model them for me?"

"Some other time." John said, putting them back in the box. "You need rest." He added as she pouted. She flopped back onto the pillow.

"Where are you sleeping?" She asked.

"The couch." He said. "My mom wanted you to be comfortable but...she definitely knows about us. And she told your mom."

Felicity groaned and covered her face. John rubbed her back, giving her a grim smile.

"Yeah, she read me the riot act." He said, moving and putting Felicity's head on his lap. She draped his arm over her shoulders, holding it against her. He was warm, secure.

"Is it strange, being back?" She murmured.

He nodded. "I never thought I'd ever get to see this again." He said. "I don't want to miss anymore." He looked at her. "I discussed it with Hal while you were asleep. We're going to try to convince the guardians that Lanterns need to have contact with their home planets." He gave her a half smile. "I figured they sort of owe us after we saved the galaxy even after they ignored us about Sinestro being alive." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Felicity nodded.

"Your friends are nice..." he paused. "Though Oliver doesn't seem to like me."

Felicity glanced up. He wasn't upset, only amused.

"Is he the man you were in love with before you left?"

Felicity nodded. "He's moved on though." She squeezed his arm. "And so have I."

"I believe the second part of that statement." John said.

"Jealous, Lantern Stewart?" She said, her eyelids were growing heavy and her muscles were relaxing.

"No." He replied. Felicity squeezed his arm, humming in disbelief. "Maybe." He mumbled.

Her eyes fluttered closed. "Nothing...worry about." She murmured, her head was getting woozy. She snuggled against him. "Love you." She fell asleep. Not noticing the small gasping breath John took as he watched her fall asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

The second they landed on Oa they were led to the guardian chamber. Kilowog, Arisia and Hal had been called in first, leaving Felicity and John outside. They waited, nervously. John took Felicity's hand.

"You did the right thing." He said.

She nodded. "I know." She glanced at the door. "I just hope they see that." There were murmurs from other laterns as they took in John and her linked hands,but neither of them let go. The door opened and their friends exited. Arisia and Kilowog tried to give them reassuring looks. Hal was fuming.

"If they don't let you guys off, I'll-"

"Hal." Felicity cut him off. She knew he was trying to help, but he was making things worse. Her stomach was churning. Hal nodded and hugged her, squeezing tight.

"Poozer." Kilowog said.

Felicity bit her lip and hugged him back, feeling slightly like a condemned person on their way to an execution. Hal squeezed harder, causing her to cough. "Hal." She gasped, tapping his back. John tried to pull him off, but he only clung harder.

"Hal." Kilowog said, pulling him off. Hal relented only to jump on John.

"I love you guys so much." He said squeezing him tight and rocking back and forth.. Arisia arched an eyebrow.

"Is this a normal human practice?" she asked.

"No." Felicity and John said. John patted his back.

"Hal, you have to let go." He said, trying to pry him off. Kilowog stepped forward, causing Hal to drop his arms. Clearing his throat he said.

"You should be fine." He said.

Arisia put her hand on Felicity's shoulder. "We'll be right out here." She said.

John moved closer as they walked into the guardian chamber. Standing side by side they stopped in front of the dais and looked up at the guardians. Felicity didn't know what to expect. She tried to keep herself calm. John had tried to reassure her as they'd all flown back to Oa, but looking at him now she could tell that he was nervous. His posture was stiff and he was standing at attention, but he hadn't dropped her hand. She turned from him to look up at the guardians.

"Lantern Stewart. Step forward and make your report." One of the guardians said. John nodded, but instead of moving, he stayed next to Felicity and began a recount of the events from his side of the barrier. Felicity relaxed, listening to his low, reassuring tone as he explained the appearance of the barrier and how he'd coordinated a split attack.

"We weren't making any headway on breaking the barrier and I called off the attack to regroup. After we'd stopped our efforts the barrier began fluctuating." John explained.

"Lantern Jordan informs us that this was a result of a plan orchestrated by you, trainee Smoak." One of the guardians interrupted John's recount. She gulped.

"Yes." She said. The guardian who had spoken gave her a small nod, though whether it was a positive or negative nod had yet to be seen.

"Continue your explanation, Lantern Stewart."

"Trainee Smoak made contact with a team of enhanced humans and used them to help her break through the barrier. She'd discovered that the Yellow lanterns fed off of fear and needed to inform the rest of the Corps." John continued his explanation, recounting how Felicity's return through the barrier with Barry had broken the barrier. She watched the faces of the guardians as he spoke. They revealed nothing, which was either really good or really bad. She looked ahead of her, trying not to show nervousness.

"Thank you, Lantern Stewart." The lead guardian said. "Your account matches what we were told by Lanterns Rrab, Jordan, and Kilowog as well as Lantern Tomar-Re. Except for one detail. Was Trainee Smoak's ring fully charged?"

John hesitated looking over at her. She gave him a small grimace. He kept his eyes on her as he said "no." He was full of regret and guilt. Felicity couldn't blame him. In all likely hood Tomar had already told them. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"And did you know of her plans to leave Oa?"

"She didn't tell me." John said.

"But you knew of her plan to disobey the council." The guardian pressed. John returned his gaze unflinchingly.

"She did not tell me that she was planning to leave." He said slowly. "But even without a fully charged ring, she made the right decision."

The guardians looked at Felicity. "Trainee Smoak." The one on the left most side of the dais spoke. "You ignored a direct command from the guardians. You irresponsibly left Oa without charging your ring thereby placing a large group of more senior lanterns in jeopardy."

Felicity didn't know how to respond. John inched closer to her.

"How ever." The guardian sounded as though it was paining him to speak. "Your presence on this mission proved to be invaluable. You saved your planet and the lives of your fellow Lanterns. As a result the council has decided to promote you to a fully active lantern." He turned to John. "Lantern Stewart. Your actions on this mission and your leadership were unparalleled. Therefore we are promoting you to honor guard."

Relief rushed through Felicity and she turned to John, his expression surprised and elated. She let out a laugh, jumping into his arms. He spun her around, holding her close against him.

"Your friend Jordan." One of the other guardians said through gritted teeth. "Further informed us that it was, quote "completely fucking stupid" for lanterns not to be in contact with their home planets and in light of the events and the necessary intervention of members of the planet's population, we have recognized the error of our ways. Therefore in the future all Lanterns will be allowed contact with their home planets so long as they remain available to return to Oa."

Felicity covered her mouth to stifle a cheer. John was beaming.

"Thank you."

"Do not make us regret this decision." The guardians said, all looking at John disapprovingly as he carried Felicity out. The second he stepped out of the door, John and pulled her into a fierce kiss.

"I was worried." He admitted.

"Me too." Felicity said, laughing. "But guess what, Mr. Honor guard; we get to go home."


	19. Chapter 19

One Year later

"They did this on purpose." Felicity grumbled, trying to reach behind her to grab at her zipper. "Did someone send them a "save the date"? Because they planned it, I just know they did."

"No." Hal said, running into the room, pulling her hand away. "I worked too hard on this day and the groom's already gone AWOL."

Felicity glared at him. "There's a prison break in the Source Wall, Hal."

"I'm aware." He said. "It's being handled."

"They need me."

"It's low level." Hal countered.

"John's there."

"He's honor guard." Hal said. "You're staying here if I have to lock you in this room."

Felicity crossed her arms. "You can try." She retorted. There was a knock at the door. Hal opened it, letting in Donna.

"Talk some sense into your daughter." He said. "No prison break is worth messing up her big day. I've been writing this best man speech since the day they met." He pulled out a piece of paper and waved it in Felicity's face.

Felicity rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"FELICITY." She heard her mother shout after her.

"We've got 6 hours." She shouted. "We'll be back by them." Running out of the hall they were holding the wedding in, she got into the stairwell and started making her way to the roof. John was already up there, wearing his tux and looking extremely handsome. Felicity walked over and jumped into his arms. "I'm being a runaway bride. Wanna join me?" She whispered against his lips. He smiled, capturing her lips for another kiss.

"Isn't it bad luck for me to see you in this dress?" He asked, putting her down. Felicity smiled and turned, showing him her back.

"Glad you're still here." She said. "And while I thought I'd be saying this later, unzip me?"

John came closer and did as she asked. "There'll be plenty of time for that later." He said. "And I couldn't leave without my partner." He pulled off his bow tie and began unbuttoning his dress shirt. Felicity slipped out of her dress, putting it on top of his suit jacket. John gaped at the green lingerie set she was wearing underneath.

"It was supposed to be a surprise for later." Felicity said, using her ring to activate her Lantern uniform.

"Consider me plenty surprised." John said, doing the same with his ring. "And definitely even more excited for later."

Felicity grinned. "Now we should get out of here and contain the prison break before Hal hunts us down for ruining his big day."

They took off, the two of them flying side by side. "He does know we're the ones getting married, right?" John asked, smirking.

Felicity breathed in a short breath as they broke through the atmosphere; the earth sitting peacefully below them. "We should have gotten married here." She murmured.

John smiled. "Felicity, prison break?"

"Right." She said shaking her head and focusing. "I'll race you."

* * *

They made it back only a few hours later, 3 minutes before the ceremony started. Felicity and John landed on the roof and barely had time to exchange a victory kiss when the Bridezilla Brigade (what Felicity and John had nicknamed Thea, Hal, and Donna) descended to salvage the "ruins" of their wedding.

"What's this green stuff in your hair?" Laurel asked, looking at the side of her head

"One of the prisoners slimed me." She answered, wiping it off.

"What will John think?" Laurel muttered.

"Considering that he got the worst of it, I'd say he won't care." Felicity said, grabbing her lipstick and began adjusting her makeup. "Did the Wave Rider crew get here?"

"No." Thea grumbled. "And if they're not here in the next two minutes, they're missing the ceremony." She shook her head. "Trust a group of time travelers to be late."

Arisia adjusted her dress. "I do not understand. Why is my dress different from the other maids of the bride?"

"Because you're the maid of honor." Felicity said. She stood, smoothing her dress. "Ray's performing the ceremony so we have to wait for them."

"This is why we should have gotten a different Justice of the peace." Thea said, sitting down in a chair. "I need a drink." She grumbled.

"Another justice of the peace?" Felicity said innocently. "One that won't be freaked out by Kilowog or Tomar-Re?"

"Right." Thea muttered. "I've been hanging around your space friends too much because aliens at a wedding seems normal." She looked over at Arisia. "No offense."

Aisha ran into the room, carrying her flower girl basket. "Mom." She said, grinning as Felicity winced; she was having trouble getting used to that. "The Wave rider's here and Ray says he's ready whenever you are."

"Right." Felicity said. "Because marrying your dad...makes me your mom." She looked over at Thea. "I might need a drink too." She froze and looked nervously at Aisha. "Which is never a solution for a problem. Don't drink."

Aisha left the room and Felicity facepalmed.

"Yeah, I am nailing this parenting thing." She muttered.

Oliver was waiting out in the hall as Felicity the bridal party got ready to go down the aisle. "Oliver." Thea hissed. "We are running on a schedule."

"She needs something borrowed." He replied, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a box. "This belongs to Sara. She got it from Nyssa when she joined the league."

"Ooo. Assassin jewelry." She said, opening the box and taking out the bracelet. It was a delicate silver cuff. "I like it...but-" She didn't know how to tell him that she already had something borrowed; John's dog tags were on a chain tucked into her dress. Though unofficially hers, they still counted as borrowed. She looked at the bracelet, Oliver wanted to appear supportive and be a part of this. She couldn't refuse his effort. "I ...um." She tried to find an excuse."...kinda want to keep it." She said.

"She wants it back." Oliver said. He watched as she pulled it on, turning her wrist and watching as it caught the light. "You nervous?"

Felicity shook her head. "I just took on an alien prison gang." She said. "Next to that, this is a cakewalk. Literally. I'm going to walk; then there's going to be cake."

Oliver gave her a small smile.

"Is Mari here?" Felicity asked. He nodded. "And things between you are good?"

"She came here with the Legends." Oliver said. "She's working with them now and..." He grimaced. "She left me. Said I was too hung up on the past and that she didn't want to play second seat to a memory." He rubbed the back of his head. "I think...maybe we only get one chance and I waited too long and messed it up." He looked at her.

"Yeah you did." She said, bluntly. Oliver was beginning a pity party and this day wasn't about him; it was about her, goddamn it. And John. She needed to derail this conversation and get on with the ceremony"But just because we never got a chance doesn't mean you need to treat all your relationships like they're going to end horribly." Shoving his shoulder she pushed him toward the entrance of the hall where the guests were assembled. "Now go in there so I can get married. Or else you'll have to deal with my mother."

Oliver walked into the hall. Thea and the others began walking down soon after. Then the bridal march began. Felicity walked into the hall. John was waiting at the other end of the aisle, looking at her intently. Next to him were Hal, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re. Donna was already weeping, leaning against Simone. The other members of Team Flash, Arrow and their friends were there. Felicity stopped next to John, taking his hands. Ray cleared his throat.

"This is a little weird, right?" He whispered. "Since you and I-" Felicity shot him a look and aimed a kick in his direction. "Right." He squeaked and cleared his throat. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman. If there is anyone here who objects speak now or forever hold your peace, though I would advise for the second option because they are both scary powerful."

There was a flurry of laughter among the assembled guests.

"Felicity and John have decided to write their own vows." Ray said, motioning to them. "So if you would."

John squeezed her hands. Felicity took a deep breath. "I'm not always good with words." She began. "In fact I somehow always manage to say the wrong ones." More laughter among the audience. She paused and continued. "But I'm going to try. 3 years ago I was thrown across the universe and landed in a strange place. I had to redefine my understanding of many things and while it wasn't always easy you believed in me." Their surroundings seemed to melt away as she continued. "In a universe of insanity and chaos you are my constant, my security, my anchor. Love is-" she shook her head. "There's about a hundred different definitions and none of them are enough to explain you and me. So, Johnathan Stewart, I'm standing here, promising to continue that definition with you."

It was John's turn. He cleared his throat. "Felicity Meghan Smoak. 12 years ago I lost my planet, my home, my family. After a while I lost all hope of ever returning. Then you crashed into my life. It took a while but we found each other." His words warmed her. She pressed her lips together; she'd promised herself she wasn't going to cry. "I've seen many things in this galaxy, but there's nothing more beautiful than what I know is in your heart. You managed to give me a home lightyears away from anyplace I thought I could call home. I know this ceremony is just a formality because what we have is more than pieces of paper and fancy clothes. In fact, I know I love you most when the two of us are covered in alien slime."

Felicity snorted. John responded with a small half smile. "You're my compass and with you I know I'll never be alone in this universe."

Before either of them knew what was happening Felicity had pulled him closer and her lips were against his.

"Guys." Ray grumbled. Somewhere in the audience Aisha retched. "You need to wait like..." He sighed as they ignored him. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now...carry on." He waved them away, stepping off the platform shaking his head. "I do, I do. It takes two seconds, they seriously couldn't wait?"

Hal and Kilowog fist bumped.

* * *

Felicity and Aisha were pulling John onto the dance floor, laughing as he pretended to resist them.

"My moves are 12 years out of date." He protested.

"You did fine during our first dance." Felicity pointed out. Tugging on one of his hands.

"That's because Donna forced us in to ballroom bootcamp." John muttered. He let them bring him to the center of the floor. Aisha hugged them.

"When do you have to go to space again?" She asked.

"Not for a long time." John promised. "Unless there's an emergency, Hal's covering our sector."

"You're stuck with us." Felicity agreed.

"That doesn't sound bad." She looked up at Felicity. John knew what she was about to say. Felicity frowned, clearly guessing her intention.

"Don't." she warned.

"Mom." Aisha giggled, running away.

"She is so lucky she's cute." Felicity mumbled, looking around at the party. Kilowog was teaching Snart and Ray a drinking song from his planet. Hal and Arisia were slow dancing, the bouquet Arisia had caught pressed between them. Donna was dancing with Captain Lance while Laurel and Sara looked on in confusion. His mom was at a table with Sergeant Diggle and Director Michaels. Everyone was focused on their own conversations.

"Want to ditch and run?" He whispered to Felicity.

"Ray's jet is on standby..." Felicity said slowly. "Ready to take us somewhere with beaches and coconut drinks." Palmer had arranged for them to have their honey moon on a private island, because of course he had a private island. Felicity glanced around the room. "They'll kill us." She commented, but her smirk gave her away; she was considering his plan and was already halfway on board.

"They'll get over it." John said, moving them closer to the door. "You'll be complaining about sand in no time."

"I have no problem with sand." Felicity pouted. "Just it's unfortunate ability to get everywhere." She glanced at where Aisha was dancing with Thea. "Just give Aisha a heads up. We don't want her to worry about us suddenly disappearing."

"See." John said. "Thinking like a mom already." He dodged as Felicity tried to zap him. "Complete misuse of your ring, Lantern Smoak. Am I going to have to report you?"

* * *

John barely had enough time to get their bags in the house before Felicity was leading him to the bed. "Eager, Mrs. Stewart?" He asked.

"I thought you'd be." She said, turning and sweeping her hair off her shoulders. "How did you get yourself unalien gooified?"

He laughed as he reached for her zipper. "That the scientific term?" He drew the zipper lower. "Hal had a backup tux and a mobile shower. It was one of his contingency plans to keep the wedding going smoothly." The dress fell, pooling at her feet. John's mouth went dry. He'd seen the bra and panties earlier, but had not gotten the chance to get the full effect. Ice green and lace rimmed, John's hands went to her hips, drawing her against him.

"No." she said, moving forward, getting on the bed and looking up at him expectantly. "You're wearing way too much."

He pulled the jacket of his tux off. "A little help?" she shook her head, taking off her shoes and tossing them to the floor.

"Nah." She said, lying back, propping her head on her hand. "I think I'll watch. So you'd better make it interesting."

John reached for his bowtie. "I see how it is." He chuckled. "I marry you and all will to put any effort in goes out the window."

Felicity looked up at the ceiling. "Strip." she ordered.

"Yes ma'am." John saluted.

* * *

After a week of just the two of them, John woke up to an empty bed. He frowned and got up, rubbing his face.

"Felicity?" He called out. There was laughter from outside. He heard talking.

"Mom, he's sleeping."

"Wore him out, already honey?"

"Mom." Felicity's horrified exclamation was accompanied by a giggle that he recognized. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants and shirt, he pulled them on before walking outside. Aisha, his mom and Mrs. Smoak were out on the balcony of their room. Felicity was covering Aisha's ears, glaring at her mom who was relaxing in the sun.

"Dad." Aisha broke away from Felicity and hugged him.

"Hey, baby." He said, hugging her back,looking in confusion at his mother. "Mom." He looked over at Donna. "Mrs. Smoak."

She cleared her throat. John nodded. "Donna." He corrected. "I thought we had two weeks?" He shot Felicity a look. She bit her lip.

"We just followed your friends." His mother replied.

He frowned and looked at Felicity. "Friends?"

She pointed over at the beach.

"Don't tell me." He groaned.

Hal was burying Kilowog in the sand while Arisia was attempting to build a sand castle.

"It wasn't me." Felicity said.

"I don't doubt it." John said, glaring at Hal. "They haven't seen us yet. We can fly the five of us out and-"

"JOHNNY. LIS."

"Too late." Felicity said as Hal waved at them.

Aisha ran over to help bury Kilowog. John sat by Felicity taking the cup of coffee that was on the table in front of her. She put her hand in his, reaching for the mug.

"Mine." She said.

"Yes I am." He replied, taking a sip of the coffee and watching their weird family play on the beach. They could be called back to space at a moment's notice, but for now they could enjoy this time with the people they were closest to.


End file.
